A Holy Union

Today marks the mid-third week for the Durham Team as we endeavor to make some political waves from the Triangle.  It is a great victory to have the opportunity to take the responsibilities from three separate positions (DemSum Intern, NCCU SGA Political Action Director and Debate Producer) and converge them into one.

Thus far, I’m beginning to adapt to the culture of DemNC, realizing that while VOE is the overall goal, there is and has always been careful attention paid to progressive victories in other arenas.  As we attend meetings at BluePrint NC and other progressive groups, Democracy NC is consistently hailed as the model “C3″ for political grassroots progress.  Though, achievements with VOE are in the minority of praises.  This works excellent for the Durham Team, in that we shall continue to work with constituents to get a bill this session in Raleigh that expands Council of State VOE and (hopefully) local election VOE leverage, yet we can also focus on the ’10 Election Season, marrying the civic goals of DemNC with the political action steps at NC Central, in a holy union.

Now that we found the niche to put it all together, this union should last far beyond 9 weeks in the summer…even if the stipends don’t

J. Alan Blackmon

Juanita Milbourne, Durham

Juanita Milbourne, Durham

Originally uploaded by democracync

Juanita Milbourne was born in Rocky Mount, NC but has spent most of her life in Raleigh. She has recently completed her freshman year at North Carolina Central University. There she accomplished many things such including being honored in the NCCU First Steps Ceremony, participating in the 2010 Honors Convocation for Academic Achievement, and winning 3rd place in the 2009 University Speech Contest. Juanita is now in the process of earning her Bachelors degree in History and Government and she will soon receive her Paralegal certificate.

Juanita enjoys taking part of activities that involve bettering her community. She often volunteers at thrift stores and women’s shelters as well. Being knowledgeable of the government is something Juanita takes pride in. She feels that knowing what is going on around her makes living easier. Juanita loves spending time with her family and friends when she is not busy doing things in the community.

Jabari Blackmon, Durham

Jabari Blackmon, Durham

Originally uploaded by democracync

Jabari Blackmon is a rising senior at North Carolina Central University, where he is a candidate for the Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science. At N.C. Central, Blackmon is a University Honors Student and serves as the Senior Political Correspondent for the Campus Echo Newspaper.

Blackmon – originally from Ohio – grew up in Durham, attended Neal Middle School, Durham School of the Arts and graduated from Southern High School in 2005.

An avid politico, Blackmon interned for Congressman David E. Price (NC-04) on Capitol Hill and also for the Congressman’s reelection campaign in 2008. He is also a former staff member in the office of N.C. House Member Representative Larry D. Hall (D-29) in the North Carolina General Assembly.

Additionally, Blackmon is an active member of the Democratic Party, having served as the National Vice President of the Black Caucus for the College Democrats of America from 2008-2009.

Brian’s Verbal Diarrhea

It happens to all of us eventually…  a slip of the tongue, a mixing up of one or two letters, a brief lapse of concentration and out it comes… a parapraxis (the dreaded Freudian slip)!

This week, while explaining how Voter Owned Elections will work in the town’s local races, Brian told our Chapel Hill Town Hall audience (as well as ALL of the folks watching on TV from home) that, “Once a candidates collects a minimum number qualifying contributions, he or she will get the runs for the rest of their campaign.” Um, yeah, Brian. If that doesn’t convince candidates to opt into the program, nothing will!

Obviously, Brian mean to say “funds” but also had the word “run,” as in “run for office” in his mind and out came the… well, you get it.

This slip caught me so off guard that I laughed out loud, perhaps the greatest compromise of my professionalism since the staff holiday party. I’m just EXTREMELY glad Jonathan wasn’t with us in Chapel Hill that night, because it would have been “That’s the WORST!” all over again!

Several people in the audience struggled (and failed) to suppress their giggles,  including one older woman who almost fell out of her seat trying to hold back a cackle. Way to connect with the older generation, Brian!

Luckily, Brian recovered quickly, despite his own chuckle at his mistake, and went on to give a great presentation.

Durham team: Thanks for another GREAT week!

Good Sports!

Despite several weeks of phone banking, night time presentations, weekend work and long hours — plus a long weekend of Wellstone Training ahead –  Brian, Christina (both with the Durham Dem Summer team) and Katy (Greenville Team) all showed with friends to join us for the benefit baseball game on June 18th. Dem NC staffers and supporters joined them, along with the folks from the Coalition for Southern Justice who had organized the event to raise money to pay for scholarships to Wellstone Training. The night was HOT, the game was irrelevant and the company grand. Before the game, there was a Happy Hour and reception at the West End Wine Bar on Main Street and the joint was PACKED with people who were chilling in the air condtioning before wading out into the hot and muggy Carolina night. Baseball is almost an anachronism to a generation used to nonstop movement and the instant joys of technology, but it retains its beauty and there’s a lot to be said for sitting for a few hours, no multi-tasking possible, and simply taking a deep breath. Many thanks to those of you who participated and helped raise money for the cause!

Off the Hook

At the home office in Durham last night we had our first evening of phone banking. Cristina and Brian did a rock star job reaching out to supporters we haven’t heard from in a while to see if they are still interested in election reform.

Overall, responses from our long lost friends were pretty positive and the summer organizers were relaxed and comfortable on the phone. I like to think they felt right at home because of the awesome training we gave them at Chestnut Ridge

We’re back on the phones again tonight, keeping them off the hook! Great job, Durham team!

First thoughts…

DURHAM: As I drove to the Democracy NC office on my first official day as an intern, I couldn’t help but wonder what I would do for the next eight hours. Eight hours is a pretty long time! Would I have enough things to do during that time? My last full-time job consisted of me answering phones for eight hours and talking to angry people desperate to talk to their lawyers, so I was really hoping that situation would not be repeated this summer.

Fortunately, my experience is completely different this time, and I now realize that eight hours isn’t that long when you’re doing interesting and productive work. Even though my fellow intern, Brian, and I haven’t given any formal presentations about voter-owned elections yet, we’re talking to a lot of people and organizations around the area, and soon enough we will be out talking to them, presenting our program, and garnering support. It’s so neat to talk to one person and have them tell you about someone else who might be interested in the work we do, and then contact them only to find out that they might know someone else too! And even though I removed a couple people from our supporters’ list last night during our phone-banking session and left lots and lots of messages on people’s answering machines, I got to talk to people who are really interested in what Democracy NC is doing and want to continue to support our work… it’s worth calling a couple disconnected numbers in a row if it means I get to talk to someone like that!

Finding ways to partner and work together with a diverse set of organizations is extremely rewarding, and it reminds me that we don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time we want to make something happen!

On a different note, if you are in the Pittsboro area, please join us tomorrow (June 4) for a Town Hall meeting hosted by Together NC at 7 PM at the Pittsboro Campus of Central Carolina Community College, in Building 2. We will be discussing the necessity of public investments in NC with our elected officials. Hope to see you there!

Peace,

–Cristina