I was called by a McAuliffe campaigner twice now. Both times the person asked me if I knew who I would be supporting for the upcoming VA governor's race, asked me what issues were important, etc. All the normal stuff.
I'm undecided at this point, unsure between McAuliffe and Moran, the two front-runners. On the second phone call the lady at the other end offered to come and meet with me to talk some more about McAuliffe. I was a bit surprised and wondered why they would invest significant time into me (or any one person) this early in the race.
Perhaps they know I was fairly active campaigning for Obama (after the conventions), or they're just looking for all the support they can get. The person who called me ended up being not a random phone bank volunteer as I guessed but the person who will be in charge of McAuliffe's Prince William County effort. I agreed to meet, but need you're suggestions about what to ask.
I researched McAuliffe and Moran's website, and as far as I can tell they are pretty similar on the issues. No help there.
I looked at their resume and political history -- both active politically for several years. McAuliffe was the DNC Chairman from 2001-2006, just before Howard Dean. Moran was in the Virginia House of Delegates since 1995.
The only question I thought of regarding resume was the fact that McAuliffe was DNC Chairman while the dems were minority for so long, and as soon as Dean took over and started the 50-state strategy we came back. I don't know how much McAuliffe might be responsible for the lack of progress, or if (as tentatively claimed on his website) he set the stage for our return when Dean took over.
Other questions I thought of asking:
- Is the candidate in favor of letting house prices reset to their historical norms, or for keeping house prices artificially high?
- What specific plans does the candidate have regarding moving towards green energy production?
- What priorities does the candidate have regarding publically-funded universities?
- PWC schools has been cutting budgets year after year, and my mother (nurse assistant, now teacher assistant) keeps getting laid off and moved around, regardless of glowing reviews. How will the candidate help individual counties deal with lower tax revenues, and is education, transportation, or other more important?
I could use your input about questions to ask that will help me differentiate between the candidates with already similar priorities. I'm meeting next Monday so there is plenty of time to research.
I'm also wondering if she is going to make an ask -- donation (probably) or volunteer for the campaign.