Back In Time, Part I

A Window Into My Campaign Trail--
A Pack of Cats Like No Other

“We want the front page! We want the front page!” shouted a chorus of hundreds. It wasn’t the usual political chant you might have heard at a typical political rally; there were no repetitions of a ‘fired up’ ‘yes we can.’ The volume, the statement told the story of how far these gathered Obama supporters had come--in this unlikely story found in The Villages, located in central Florida, they demanded to be heard.

The Villages is the home of some 70,000 retirees, mostly imports from the Northeast and the Midwest, spanning over three counties in central Florida. It is a manufactured community, complete with two town squares (designed by the Universal Studios architect responsible for creating Main Street USA), man made lakes, row upon row of identical one story ranch homes, and guarding gates (that for most places open freely). The residents move here for the ambiance the development both creates and suggests-- easier, friendlier, breezier life of retirement. Villagers agree almost unanimously that the lifestyle they gain cannot be matched anywhere else, with the countless pools and recreation centers, 34 golf courses, and the boasted 1,000 daily activities occurring. It is “America’s Friendliest Hometown!”

And yet for the Democrats who live in the Villages, they find themselves constantly wading through unfriendly waters. Developer and CEO Gary Morse is one of the largest contributors to and fundraisers for the Republican party in the state of Florida, and he does not hesitate to rigorously promulgate his influence. The official radio station carries FOX News, and the development advertises for new residents on the FOX News cable station. The newspaper The Daily Sun, produced solely by the development, reads with an undeniable bias. Democrats steered clear of politics at dinner parties, avoiding ‘outing’ themselves as holding beliefs against the majority. Privately, they complained in 2004 that the tires on their golf carts may have been slashed if it bore a Kerry/ Edwards sticker. It was the popular belief that Democratic attention from a national or statewide campaign would never be given to the area and, while Villagers campaigned for Democratic candidates actively locally through their clubs, they needed to concentrate outside of the development if there was to be any success. As created, the Democratic efforts would always wane in comparison to the Rebuplican's iron fist.

The Village Democrats were not wrong in their assessment--never before had the Democratic party given any serious attention to the counties where the Villages are located; after all, they went 17 points for Bush’s favor in 2004, and the Villages went 2 to 1 for Bush. It was an unlikely spot for a Democratic field organizer to be assigned. But there I was—at first, part of a team of three covering these three counties and, by October, one of a baker's dozen. My sole responsibility was the Villages and its immediate surroundings. I was told it would be a ‘unique’ experience, similar to ‘herding cats.’ Some of the people with whom I would work were already Democratic activists; because there was not a primary in Florida, none of them were likely to be familiar with the philosophies of the Obama campaign. My job would be to harness their energy to follow the strategies of this campaign. Despite my surroundings, I was responsible for the same number of votes as each of my colleagues in Miami, Orlando, anywhere in the sunshine state.

For four months I worked alongside the Villagers. I started with a small group of fourteen on the town square’s Starbucks, but quickly grew. By mid July, the Villagers for Obama had an organizational meeting that had over 60 attendees, the largest in the region by a landslide. We continued recruiting; people found our offices (unlike the Republicans, we could not afford an office on the town square, so we were located just outside the Villages in the city of Lady Lake); friends asked friends to join the movement. Our numbers, in terms of voter contact, were solid; we were throwing house parties, hand delivering postcards to undecided voters, reaching our goals. We hosted two events at a local restaurant with national surrogate speakers that were filled to the limit. By September, we had more than 200 active volunteers, making on average over 5000 phone calls a week to voters in the area.

Now, six days before the election, the crowd had gathered for an event labeled, “An Early Vote Gathering with Caroline Kennedy,” held at the Savannah Center in the heart of the Villages. It was the only space able to be secured that could hold the upwards of 500 people. It was also the only space the Villages Corporation allowed the Tri-County Democratic Club to rent, the most expensive space and one of two places in the development where people could visit freely without a Villages ID.

(story to be continued...)


Time: 35 minutes (Run 3/Walk 1)
Place: Hilly Quarry
Weather: Cold
Distance: 3.0 miles
Feeling: This could have been worse.
Overall grade: C+