Campaigns

My political career began in the campaign world, helping progessives get elected in my hometown region. After moving back to the U.S. from Belgium, I got myself enveloped in the world of local/regional politics while pursuing my AA. Here are some of those experiences. 

Me giving the keynote at the Measure R campaign kickoff.

Measure R (2020)

I helped out with this campaign on a volunteer basis and in my capacity as Student Trustee on the Governing Board of the college.  This included delivering yard signs, some digital outreach, doorknocking, public speaking at donor events, tabling on campus and building support for the measure among local government officials. 

Me and Adam professionally talking smack about the republican candidate's ignorance on climate change, whom Adam had just wrecked in this (pt.1) debate (pt.2) co-organized by the campaign and the Sunrise Movement.

Adam Bolaños Scow for U.S. Congress (2020)

I worked on a paid basis for this campaign as the lead campus organizer for the Cabrillo College Campus. This included digital and in-person outreach, campaign literature dissemination, event-hosting and farmer's market campaigning on the Cabrillo College Campus. The Scow campaign went up against incumbent Jimmy Panetta, an entrenched and highly politically connected old-guard democrat. As such, we were predictably unsuccessful but we did reach turnout goals in Santa Cruz County to make it to the run-off election in the General and our campaign helped move the needle on some key policy issues. 

Photo I took of local legend and friend of the campaign, Curtis, while on the campaign trail.

Drew Glover For Santa Cruz City Council (2018)

I worked on a volunteer basis for this campaign as press coordinator. Though, being a small-grassroots campaign, I did a bit of everything. One of my responsibilities was the management of the bi-weekly campaign newsletter. I followed Drew around to community events to take photos/videos, talk to community members, etc. I did door-to-door campaigning, tabled at the farmer's market and helped with political research and strategy. I was Drew's right-hand man on the campaign until school started and scaled down my engagement. Drew won the election. He was recalled from his seat by an agglomeration of predominantly home-owners and real-estate interests who launched a nasty smear campaign against him. I  tried to help combat the smears with this publication. The agglomeration of anti-Drew folks invested many thousands of dollars into his recall election, it was traumatic for the whole community and wrong. Democrat in-fighting between progressives and liberals is alive and well at the local level.