Image of Reshma SaujaniThe hours go up as we get closer to September 14. Victors put in hours.
An open office is one that has at least one person in the office. We want people out in the field as much as in the office. But we want one person who will answer the phone. "Hi, this is Jon with Reshma 2010." "Hi, this is Kevin with Reshma 2010." We answer the phone 14-7 unfailingly. And we talk to the caller as long as they will talk to us. And we answer all emails. All emails. What is that one email address?
People still will get their days off, but not all of them will be off on Sundays. A lot of community action happens during weekends. A lot of events are evening events. Everybody on the team has to have a phone that is always on. When you are not in the physical office, you are in the mobile office. But if we plan well, the last minute fire fighting phone calls will be kept to the minimum. When you are with people, be with the people, get off the phone, concentrate on the people. Shower attention on the volunteers, shower attention on the media people, shower attention on the community leaders and activists. Get on a first name basis with all of them. You can't do that if you are on the phone with the campaign office instead.
I can do weekends, and I can do the late shift, no problem. I could take Wednesdays off. I hear the Bronx Zoo is free entry on Wednesdays.
Read, read, read. Read the New York Times. Read it every day. Read it first thing in the morning. It is a good newspaper. Got to talk up the politics of the day. What is the latest? What is happening in DC? What is happening in Albany? What's up in City Hall? What is Bloomberg up to today? Read up. Read it on online. Buy it in print. Share it. Pass it around. Ask to read the business section when someone else is reading the front page. I want to see stains on that paper, your hand stains.
On your day off go read a book.
Call, call, call. Spend at least one hour every working day calling up voters. I don't know yet what the setup is like in the office, but we need a few dedicated landlines for that express purpose. One hour is minimum. Do it at random hours of the day. Do it because you need a break from staring at that computer screen.
Meet, meet, meet. Meeting ordinary people is the best part of working on a political campaign. You should have fun doing it. You should look forward to it. You should feel like, I am having so much fun meeting people, why is Reshma even paying me to do this? Paying me to meet people is a scam. I would do it for free. This is so much fun. If you are not enjoying meeting people, you are in the wrong line of business. Go become a carpenter or something. Or a rocket scientist.
Drink, drink, drink. Do not get dehydrated. Always carry with you a bottle of water wherever you go. We just need the plastic bottles. Tap water works just fine. Bottled water is tap water with a brand name. That is all. Bring the bottles back to the office and fill them up. Never run out of water. The best things in life are free. Water is one of them. Water is officially the best drink anyone can get hold of. Better even than milk.
I demand we keep a mixer/grinder in the office, and always a ready stock of yogurt, mango pulp, icecream, and ice. I will make mango lussee for everyone, as often as I have to. But I'd prefer to teach it to you. You add two raw eggs and some milk into that mix, and it is a meal. I have tried that many times. I want an endless supply of lassee for me, lassee that I make myself. Yogurt, mango pulp, milk, eggs, icecream, ice. Kevin, if you want me to call you boss, do this. Keep the supplies stocked up. This is what I mean by keep the trains running.
Mock debates every week. Megan stands in as Maloney. Kevin moderates. I do a brutal analysis after it is over. All staffers and interns are encouraged to come watch, to offer one liners, funny and otherwise. We are opening up a bank for one liners. Donate one liners. We are not asking for blood. It is just one liners. Any staffer/intern/volunteer can apply to stand in as Maloney. If you think you are a great debater, contact me.
Work the subway stops. Everyone on the team - staffers, interns, top volunteers - must work a subway stop in the district for at least an hour during rush hour each week. We will meet many non voters in the process, but that is okay. Remember that part about meeting people? All we are trying to do is get people to visit our website. And they don't have to be in the district to donate. If they are not in the district, maybe they know someone who is. If they are not a voter, they might know someone who is. Hi, Reshma is running for Congress, and she would like you to visit her website. And you hand out the flyer.
I am assuming all staffers have the monthly metro card. I will get one too. If anyone wants to get on the Metro PCS family plan with me, holler! Unlimited talk, text, web sounds like sliced bread. I have never tried it. I am about to. On the other hand, getting the new 4G Android phone from Sprint might allow me to video blog for the campaign every day, several times a day. Video blog, tweet. Feedback welcome. I am going to ask Nihal about this tomorrow.
Buzzd: Paramendra
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