In it to WIN it #1

When you enter into an election and enounce your candidacy you should do it with the intention to win the election and then better your district and better your state, which you are representing.  A while ago I found out that although may have been the best person to represent the democrats in the Senate he was not running for the right reasons.  Rodney Glassman was running against a well-known name and veteran in the political world so he needed a strong game plan, which he lacked.  As the election progressed it was easy to see that John McCain had the upper hand on him in everyway.  Even though I am a die-hard Democrat if you listened to both candidates on the issues you would see that McCain was that right man for the job. 

Once the election was over I found out that Glassman was basically in it to just be able to say that he ran for Senate.  He had no belief in himself or his staff that he could actually accomplish what he had set out to do.  Things like this should not be allowed to happen but unfortunately they do and more often than not the public goes unaware of it.

It’s Getting Ugly Out There

In every election season you expect to see and hear some trash talking between the candidates.  But this season in Arizona the candidates decided to run a clean elections campaign so the attack adds did not come out until late in the game and when they did they were hardly noticeable.  The only one that I could remember that even caught us off guard was the rumor that Terry was homosexual.  But I don’t believe we even responded to the rumor, since Terry was married and has a son. 

But if you were to say go to California you would be bombarded by attack adds.  You would hear every dirty secret that every candidate wrong whether it be true or not and most of it was probably blown completely out of proportion but that is what attack adds are all about.  Distraction, distraction, distraction.  They are designed to get your focus off the issues and on the flaws of the other candidate.  Most people don’t participate in the mid-term elections but those who do don’t pay attention to the candidates issues so when they see these adds they get side tracked and just focus on which candidates adds are the most attractive or maybe worse they vote party line. 

Something Bigger Than Yourself

There are few opportunities that you get in life when can be involved with something that will effect not only you or your family but also the entire state.  Over these past few months I have had the opportunity to work with one of the finest political figures I have had the opportunity to meet.  I worked with Terry first at the Attorney General’s Office in the Crime Fraud and Victim Resources Department and then on as intern when he began his race for governor.  Terry has worked hard to better the state of Arizona first as Phoenix’s Mayor and now as the states main law enforcer. 

Being part of his campaign for Governor truly is something great.  You get a front row seat into peoples reactions into how the state is currently being ran and what they want changed.  You get to see what people really care about and what they are passionate about and how far they are willing to go to make the necessary changes.  During the campaign I met people all throughout the state and from every social economic class.  Terry was able to touch each group in a special way and they knew he would be able to help and be there for him because of what he has done for the state in the past.

Goals

 

Goals are a funny thing.  We should have them and I think on some level we all do have them.  Its whether we choose to realize them or not is what makes the difference between all of us.  Inside all of us is the potential for greatness its whether or not we choose to delve deep enough inside ourselves to seek it out.  When most people set out to create a goal all they focus on is the finish line the end result.  They never focus on the many steps it may take to get to achieve that end result.  It is so important for us to map out goals and the steps it takes to get.  Knowing what the end result is fantastic but what is important is to take it one step at a time otherwise you will overwhelm your self. 

 

I have seen this time and time again.  Nothing is impossible, nothing.  As long as you put the time and effort into something you bad enough you can achieve anything.  One of my favorite quotes is from Will Smith, greatness is knowing who I am and what I believe in and the willingness to die for it.  For me if you are willing to put yourself on that next level you can achieve anything.  If you are committed to something enough to die for it nothing can stand in your way.

 

Too Close To Call

With the election just days away and a new poll just released by a third party showing the gap getting even narrower the momentum in definitely on our side.   The countless days on the phone, strategy meetings and phone banks seem that they might pay off in less than a week.  All of my days are spent on the phone calling people from across the state; people who are supporters of Terry who said either in an email or online or in an office that they would like to help in some way.

Over the past few weeks my days have been spent talking to people, these potential volunteers trying to set up house parties, phone banks or group canvases. Arizonans know that this state is in a downward spiral and it is need of a change but I just hope that they will realize it in time for the election. 

Seeing these polls come out as often as they do drive me crazy because the numbers vary so often.  Some only show down a few points some say several.  Often you don’t know which ones to listen to.  All you can do is keep your head to the grindstone and work as hard as you can and keep listening to your constituents and pray that they are listening to you.

The Hunt

As you all know the economy has not seen an upside in a long time.  In fact we are in our second depression as if one wasn’t bad enough.  But those who know me know that I try to find the silver lining to anything.  So my friend and I attempted to team up and buy a house together.  We found a great three bedroom three bathroom in Tempe for $120,000.  But isn’t it always true that those things that seem to be too good to be true usually are.   

After we had an inspection done and a contractor do a walk through we found several things would make the home more trouble than it’s worth.  Something I have learned over the last few years of my life is when to walk away.  Even when you have the paperwork ready and people are counting on you to go through with it there is something that I always keep in the back of my mind.  Its just business, and especially when money is involved your needs and interests must come first above all else.

Separation of Powers

It is easy to be discouraged in a campaign.  Especially when you know your candidate is the right man for the job but he is a Democratic and your state is overwhelmingly Republican.  It seems that every day I get a phone call saying that we need to on TV more attacking Brewer and I totally agree but what a lot of people don't know is that even though Goddard is what is considered the top of the Democratic ticket this election is considered a "clean election" unfortunately.  Believe me unfortunately.  That means that each candidate is only allotted $600,000 in personal fundraising and the rest goes to the Arizona Democratic Party and then is divided among the candidates.  Thats why your not really seeing a lot of ads from either candidate on television but there are a ton on YouTube.  Because you have people like me who can take media that has been filmed at a previous event and splice it together into a 30 second clip and load it onto YouTube.

But what can really be discouraging but also bring interns together is the layout of the office.  We are in a unique building in Phoenix.  It is more of a rectangle than a square so all of the desks are lined up against the wall leaving no one really eye contact with each other.  On the far end you have all the people with titles and on the other end you have the interns.  This has built a strong comradery with the interns but a little internal turmoil within the office because of the separation.  I still have tremendous respect for my colleagues but I think who ever thought that it was a good idea to put everyone where they did was a good idea must have been out of their mind.    A campaign like this with such a minimal budget needs all the support it can get and something as little as desk arrangement should not be the straw in the camel's back.