Standing on the corner of Topaz Court on a hot July afternoon, holding a bag stuffed with campaign booklets, I stare at the next house number on the list. Sweat trickles down my from my hair, and I wipe it away impatiently as I walk up the steps and ring the doorbell. Seconds later, someone unlocks the door and pokes her head out.
“Hi! Could I speak to Amanda please?” I try valiantly to inject some energy into my voice even though the sun has sucked it all away.
“That’s me,” a middle-aged woman replies, a friendly smile on her face.
“Lovely to meet you Amanda! My name is Ilhaam; I’m a volunteer for the Ro Khanna campaign. Could I take a minute of your time to tell you about Ro?”
My conversation with Amanda began no differently than the hundreds of other times I had knocked on doors. Yet the dynamics of our discussion were unlike those of any other interaction I had had while canvassing. She took a campaign booklet and flipped through it as I talked. She asked intelligent questions about my motivation to become involved in the campaign. Encouraged by her enthusiasm, I crossed my fingers (and toes) and asked the million-dollar question: would she be willing to come to an evening meet-and-greet with Ro next Saturday?
Amanda not only agreed to come but also asked if she could bring a few of her church friends with her. Seizing the opportunity to introduce more voters to the campaign, I gave her the address and time of the meet-and-greet and asked her to pass on the information. Still floored by her avid interest, I waved good-bye and went on my way.
For Amanda, the meet-and-greet was the start of her involvement with the campaign. Within a month, she was a Neighborhood Team Leader, in charge of recruiting volunteers from her community. Now, Amanda and I are working side-by-side as Regional Vote Directors (RVDs) for our respective regions, Newark and Warm Springs.
My first conversation with Amanda serves as a reminder to me of how crucial volunteers are to the campaign. Volunteers are people who recruit from their communities and build support for their candidate. They walk door-to-door every day of the week to have meaningful conversations and convince others of a cause they believe in. They empathize with voters when they hear a story about how a woman’s husband was laid off because a factory closed down or how a daughter’s art and physical education classes have been removed because of budget cuts. Having these types of interactions with the community strengthens not only the citizens’ confidence in the campaign to bring about change but also the volunteers’ and interns’ resolve to do so.
As a RVD, I use my previous experiences, such as Amanda’s recruitment story, to inform leadership decisions I make. When there are canvass training sessions, I ask volunteers and interns to explain to voters why they are working on this campaign. What platform or issue motivated them to take a stand? Those are the stories that will show voters that Ro’s campaign is truly grassroots and focuses on the community rather than the candidate. Relationships between the voters and volunteers promote discussion and avenues for change.
Amanda is a constant reminder that our team does valuable work. She may not have been as involved in the campaign if I hadn’t knocked on her door on that hot July afternoon and had a personal conversation. Similarly, each interaction a volunteer has with a voter is just as significant. The story of Amanda’s involvement serves as an inspiration to our team as well as a testament to the importance of building personal relationships with the community.
