I hit a rough patch - my ice caused flying fall onto my ribs was followed by a several day bout of the bug with sneezing, runny nose and coughing.
Due to these temporary disabling maladies I have missed the last two weeks of productive door-to-door work on behalf of Lisa. I probably lost out on at least 50 signatures and every one of them are needed badly for us to hit our goal of 2,000 by March 15.
Fortunately there have been other things I could do such as mailing materials to others around Maine who are helping and working with our signature coordinator Isaac to package and mail voter registration cards and completed petitions to various towns for their verification.
Working on a campaign is quite detail oriented and a complex process. I've worked on campaigns a couple times in the past but never to this level of involvement. It's been a real learning process.
Amazingly our great candidate Lisa Savage has stayed well (although I am sure tired as hell). She has kept up a blistering pace with her devoted husband Mark driving her from one end of the state to the other. She is representing the issues dear to our heart in a good way and we are proud to stand with her.
This coming Saturday many of us are going north to Belfast, Maine to hit doors there and Lisa will work the downtown area around the shops to talk with people. So we should have a good presence there for the day.
Next week we will be doing a tour of four colleges across the state - spending an entire day at each one in Orono, Unity, Farmington and Portland. Arrangements have been made at most of the schools to invite students to hear Lisa speak. Should be an exciting time.
People often complain that our movements are only talking to the choir and we rarely have interactions with young people. So far this campaign has proven to be a blessing in that we are reaching out way beyond our normal boundaries.
The primary issues Lisa is talking with students about include erasing student debt, dealing with climate crisis (Green New Deal), stopping endless war$ and conversion of the military industrial complex to sustainable technology development.
Lately the Lisa for Maine team has been working hard to register voters (with the green cards pictured above) as new Green Independent Party members so they can sign her ballot access petition. In this current environment, where all the media is focused on the Democratic Party primaries, let me say it is a real challenge but we are doing our best.
Fortunately the donations have been coming in real strong from Green Party members across the nation during the past month (thanks to fundraising calls by Jill Stein and Lisa) so we've been able to hire some people to help gather signatures. Even these professional signature gatherers say that finding Greens is the hardest signature collecting they have ever done since there are so few of them in comparison to the major corporate parties and the unenrolled (independents). Right now we have almost 900 signatures in hand.
Today I am heading out with a local friend to get back to doors in the nearby town of Topsham. Wish us luck and keep our struggle to give the people of Maine a real choice in the next election close to your heart!
Bruce
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