Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District Commissioner Richard Marks may know more about the art of going door-to-door than anyone else in the county. It was a cornerstone in his bid for the commission, as well as past campaigns for state Assembly and county supervisor and his wife’s runs for local school board. Arriving unexpectedly at people’s doors played a big part in Marks’ previous career working for unions. In that role, Marks says he was tasked with meeting employees outside of the work place — often at their homes — to gauge support for unionizing. It’s a role that brought Marks to doorsteps throughout the state and elsewhere. Having trained in the art of doorstep conversations — learning how to evaluate people and relate to them using their body language and verbal cues — and having worked dozens of local campaigns, Marks knows how to squeeze the most out of door-to-door campaigning. Marks, who put his skills to use on 4th District
Supervisor Virginia Bass’s re-election bid, says the first thing is to have a strategy, or else door-to-door will become a massive time investment that yields little return. Voter registration data from the Humboldt County Elections Office can act as a kind of road map, telling you who is registered to vote, his or her party affiliations and how often he or she actually turns up to cast a ballot. Marks suggests a tiered approach: Your first efforts should be to reach your likely supporters, which will help with fundraising and gathering more volunteers; Next, Marks says you should target absentee voters because their ballots arrive well in advance of Election Day; Finally, you go after the folks who vote every election but are undecided in the race. Salzman agrees that having a sound strategy is vital and that it has to be focused on getting as large a return on your time investment as possible. Salzman even quipped that he doesn’t mind hearing that a likely voter has pledged his or her support to his candidate’s challenger because it means the campaign can cross that voter off the list and avoid wasting any more time or money calling, sending mailers or showing back up at his or her door. Sometimes it’s not quite that simple. Kerrigan says he’s visited a lot of homes that have signs from both his campaign and that of his challenger, Bass, in the front yard. Kerrigan says he always asks about the apparent dual allegiance at the door, and hears all kinds of responses. Some are split households, with spouses or cohabitants voting differently. He says he met an elderly couple recently that said they never turned down a campaign sign when it was offered. “It was their way of thanking people who run for office,” Kerrigan says. In addition to learning not to judge a book by its cover, seasoned candidates have picked up some other canvassing strategies. Arcata City Councilwoman Alex Stillman was the first woman to run for and win a seat on the council in 1972, and has canvassed neighborhoods in each of her four bids for office. She says simple tricks, like having a volunteer drop her off at the top of a hill so she can work her way down, can save lots of time. “That’s just strategy stuff,” she says, adding that she was also schooled early on to avoid homes with a Jehovah’s Witness symbol by the door because the religion prohibits its members from voting. “If someone doesn’t vote, that can really take a lot of your time to be talking to them,” she says. “You have to move along.” Sometimes that’s easier said than done, especially after knocking on the door of someone eager to give you an earfull. Clendenen, known for his opposition of continued on next page
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house problem was affecting neighborhoods. He spoke with one woman who told him about the terror she felt as someone tried to cut through her screen door, convinced her home was a grow house. He says another guy chased him off his porch, paranoid that Winkler was a home-invasion robber. Winkler says he was already supporting Arcata’s excessive electricity tax aimed at clamping down on grow houses, but he says going door-todoor reinforced his position and gave him new insight into the problem. “As far as personal experiences, [campaigning door-to-door] is one of the most fulfilling things that I’ve done in my life,” he says. But canvassing neighborhoods is also about winning votes, and can be a tremendously successful strategy when deployed correctly.
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northcoastjournal.com • North Coast Journal • Thursday, JUNE 5, 2014
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