Hey everyone, let's take advantage of this weekly platform to get to know each other a little better. Not everyone can participate in the meet-ups, and we don't always get a chance to go into much personal background there anyway.
I'll get the ball rolling by describing where I live, what I have done by way of GOTV in the past, and what I have been doing and plan yet to do this election cycle.
I'm in Washtenaw County, currently in Ann Arbor but planning to move to Ypsilanti the day-after-tomorrow, vacating my house here by the end of the month. My portion of the county, current and prospective, is in MI-12, Rep. Dingell's district, though not all of the county is so lucky; some of us are in MI-7, represented by Tim Walberg. Fortunately, Pam Byrnes is running an excellent campaign. (If you feel like sending Pam some love, check out her website here. They welcome donations, callers, and canvassers.) Then, for the state legislature, my senator now is Rebekah Warren (S18) and my representative is Jeff Irwin (H53). I'll keep Warren but switch to David Rutledge for representative (H54). All are solid Democrats.
As you might imagine, Washtenaw tends to be reliably blue--but that's not true for the whole county. In Walberg's district, on the western side of the county, there are a lot of Republicans. And, for that matter, even many erstwhile Democrats in the county voted for Rick Snyder in 2010, taken in by his campaign rhetoric.
This election season, I've not done any canvassing or calling yet. That's unusual for me, since I have done both (and more, on election weekend in particular) for several months preceding elections going back till at least 2004, probably earlier. In 2008, I went to Indiana at my own expense to campaign for Barack Obama during the primaries. In 2008 and 2010 I was also a poll watcher. In 2012 I was a poll greeter. I've also participated in voter registration drives, especially in 2008.
I did some early groundwork this year for setting up voter teams, thanks to the leadership of Chris Savage and Tad Wysor, and I've made some modest campaign contributions. But, as soon as we're moved into our new house and I have changed my voter's registration, I'll get into gear. Turns out that our Ypsi residence has long been occupied by a Democratic activist, so there will be positive vibes to support my efforts.
I'm sure I'm in the middle of the pack in terms of GOTV activity, however. I look forward to hearing from all of you!
"I'm wondering whether you all know this variation on the old folktale of stone soup: that when everyone comes together to contribute their own ingredient, in the end a delicious and nourishing repast is created for all. That's what I'm hoping to do, metaphorically speaking, through these Michigan/Motor City Kossacks Open Thread diaries... The good thing about an Open Thread is that anything is fair game for adding, as long as it's in the interest of promoting community across the state." - peregrine kate