Mr Manhard, my high school AP calculus teacher, once offered the following advice to our class: when you fall behind, don't stress about catching up on missed homework assignments right away. Instead, focus on completing the current assignment so you don't fall further behind. Then start working through the backlog. I have an embarrassing number of emails saved in my drafts folder that were intended as a first newsletter. There they will sit, but this one? This one is making it out! Welcome to my newsletter. |
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Preliminary election results |
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We're over a week past the preliminary election and I finally feel like the adrenaline crash is tapering off. [OK, maybe the adrenaline rush + crash was a bit prolonged due to losing my phone a couple of days later and then baking four-dozen cupcakes for my older kid's birthday party late at night that weekend...] For those who might not have seen, here are the results. You can see ward level results here. |
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I made it through to the general election in November, and got some really helpful data in the process. I actually did pretty well in a couple of wards (I see you, wards 8 and 9). Not surprisingly I did poorest in the wards I have yet to canvas (wards 3 and 4). This is valuable information that will help shape my strategy over the coming weeks. |
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So what do the next two months look like? It looks like me getting out to as many houses as possible and having as many conversations as possible with Waltham residents. I know from all of you and from new people I meet that it's important to fund our schools and support our educators. That we want safe sidewalks and better ways to get around our city. That we want to plan for our future. That we don't want rats running all over the place. That we want safe and affordable housing. That we want our community farm and pantry to keep nourishing us. That we want more trees and to protect our open space. That we want to hear more from the City about what's going on and how to get involved. I know this message resonates in Waltham. But there are so many people who have no idea that there is someone willing to stand up for this vision (hint: it's me!). I have zero name recognition in Waltham and am going against a group of incumbents actively working to maintain the status quo. That's where mailers come in. A mailer is a piece of paper with information about the candidate. It gets mailed to many households as a way to reach and engage voters. Mailers are effective because they can reach many more households than one individual can. There are a few planned between now and the general election in November. |
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Unfortunately, I am only one person. One extraordinarily ordinary person who was allocated the same 24 hours in the day just like everyone else on this planet, but who often resists that by adding more things to their plate than I probably should. I typically manage this tendency by working late at night, however most people would not appreciate hearing from me at 1a. |
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Do you ever have free time between 5-8p on weeknights or daytime hours on the weekends? If so, we can knock on some doors together! There are set volunteer training sessions Saturdays at 10a and Sundays at 12p, where you'd get trained on what to say, how to use the app that has the list of which households you'd visit, and be given the literature to hand out. If those trainings don't work for your schedule, we can find a different time. Once you're trained, you can go out whenever works for your schedule. |
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If that feels uncomfortable/unrealistic for any number of reasons, maybe phonebanking is a better fit? This would go a long way to reaching people I haven't been able to reach yet - sometimes doorbells are broken, it's hard to gain access to large apartment buildings, etc. Again, you'd be given a script and training, and a list of phone numbers. This is a little more flexible in that you can call people from wherever you are and whenever works for your schedule, however for best results this also probably shouldn't happen at 1a :) |
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I do still have some yard signs available from my first batch. If you'd like one, or know someone who would like one, I'm happy to deliver! Incidentally, this has been a great task to do after canvassing hours are over - you might see me doing drop offs on my bike! |
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It feels crass to state, but campaigns do need financial resources to run. Those mailers I mentioned above? $$$. I am so grateful to the many of you who have donated already (and some of you are already on round 2 or 3!). I need to raise $2000 for the first mailer. I'm at $735. Can you help close the gap? You can donate online here, or if you'd prefer to donate via check that's also an option. |
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You might look at the options above and not see one that works for you. We've all been short on time, money, energy, space. No questions asked. The chances are high that you have friends and neighbors who have never heard of me. Perhaps you could forward them this newsletter to share the message and get more people involved. |
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Wait, Emma, what did you do over the summer? |
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I spent the summer learning so much about running a campaign. I gathered the 50 necessary signatures to get my name on the ballot. I built a website for the first time. I applied for a number of endorsements from various organizations (received: Greater Boston Labor Council, Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus, Massachusetts Sierra Club; still waiting to hear back from: SEIU Local 509, Environmental League of Massachusetts). I hosted a campaign kick-off fundraiser at Bistro 781. I attended the Waltham Democratic City Committee's Meet the Candidates event. I knocked on doors across wards 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, sometimes with my kids in tow. I taped a segment with WCAC and an interview with Channel 781 News. Was each of these sentences supposed to be its own newsletter? Yes. Am I letting those ships sail? Also yes. Have new things happened between drafting this newsletter and getting it formatted and into your inboxes? Yes again. |
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Are all your newsletters going to be this long? |
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I have no idea! Maybe? Either way, you get a gold star for reading to the end. Thank you. The newsletter is part of my effort to increase transparency. If you would rather not continue to get novels delivered to your inbox, there is an option to unsubscribe at the bottom. |
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