David Sepulveda Photo
Marx, second from left, at opening night.
Ten volunteers came to Westville’s Kehler Liddell Gallery Thursday night not to look at art, but to practice the art of persuasion on behalf of Democrat Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Tonight, there was plenty of art to see and lots of enthusiasm among the ten volunteers that showed up at the gallery for what New Haven ward alder (26) Darryl Brackeen Jr. described as a “virtual phone bank.”
The mission at hand: Reach out to New Haven voters who have already expressed interest in the Hillary for President campaign or who have previously donated to the campaign, with hope that they will be inclined to volunteer for future phone banks and other grassroots activities for the November election.
The volunteers arrived with laptop computers, tablets or smart phones. Andrew Smyth of Westville arrived with all three. “This was one of those opportunities when I can do something. Ever since I moved to New Haven I’ve been excited by local politics; I like connecting Local politics to national” said Smyth.
Smyth and his electronics arsenal.
Amy Marx, the co-chair of the Democratic Party’s 26th Ward Committee, cautioned against being overconfident about Connecticut’s blue-state status: “As soon as you leave the New Haven border, you begin to see a lot of Trump signs. I think the state is going to be incredibly red. If voters think this is a done deal — if turnout is not high in New Haven, we could have an election night disaster on our hands.”
New Haven Democratic Town Chair Vincent Mauro Jr. said the event was aimed at building a critical mass of enthusiasm for the candidate. “New Haven has put up tremendous votes and is an outlier in the state in getting people to call around.” Mauro lauded event organizers Marx, Upper Westville Alder Daryl Brackeen Jr. and Melody Oliphant for their work on the “virtual phone bank.”
Before getting to work, Brackeen gave the volunteers a pep talk: “I have been supporting Hillary Clinton from day one, and I am so ecstatic that her time has come up and that we get to fight and win together. We had a rough primary season but we are all coming together, slowly but surely, and we have a great Democratic platform that’s adopted a lot of progressive issues.”
Brackeen asked the volunteers to state the reason they are excited about Hillary. The answers were short and sure: “I’ve been a Hillary fan going all the way back to Bill Clinton.” “She’s the perfect person for the job.” “Because she’s not Donald Trump!” “She has lots of experience and will be the second president to make history.” “Her experience as secretary of state and how clear she is about her platform.” “I think she’s the most qualified candidate we’ve ever had.” “With my military background I look forward to seeing her as commander-in-chief.”
“My name is Hilary, when Hillary wins — I win”, one volunteer joked.
Brackeen, second from right.
The group made up to 500 calls during the evening, with more expected in coming weeks. Marx said a dedicated campaign office will open soon, perhaps within the week, so volunteers that are contacted will have a place to work “as much as the spirit moves them.”
New Haveners wishing to volunteer for the Hillary campaign can call 203 – 479-2855 or email here. Online campaign information can be found here.