Urban Go-Team 2014

Were there any comments by the panelists that struck you as especially true, upsetting, inspiring, and/or thought provoking? What were the stories that stood out to you?

One of the democratic panelists spoke about how her struggle in the Missouri house isn’t getting bills passed, but “making the evil that’s being churned out less bad.” With such a distorted ratio of Republicans to Democrats in the house, the minority has very few chances to contribute at all. It leaves a very un-optimistic take on the future of Missouri politics.

Did the panelists’ experiences as Democrats, Republicans, and/or independents change the way you thought about party politics, and if so, how? What about the role of political parties—what did you learn about bipartisanship, and our political power structures

All the panelists had different experiences with partisanship depending on their position in the state. County Executive Dooley, for example, said that political divisions didn’t stop over 70% of his political funds coming from Republicans with a keen interest in their areas. It taught me that smart investors don’t stop at party lines but invest in whatever falls into being in their best interest.

What did you learn about political strategy (door knocking, base building, etc.), and how those strategies can change over of the course of a campaign?

Many of the panelists began their campaigns as relative unknowns and began their campaigns by focusing on a single issue. They said that the main way to gather votes in their campaigns was to go door to door and talk to voters. Apparently their biggest struggle wasn’t getting people to vote for them specifically, but more so just getting people to come out to vote at all.

Many of you struck up conversations with our guests after the formal panel. What did you talk about? Did you pick up their cards? How might you continue the conversation, with these panelists or others?

After the panel discussion, the panelists were more willing to speak to us about their personal fights in their respective areas of the government regarding the issues that they care about right now. Also, while I didn’t pick up any cards, both Rep. Newman and Rep. McCreery followed me back on Twitter! Hopefully this networking experience will come to fruition sometime in the future.

Our panelists talked a lot of ways to be involved with campaigns and elections—not just as a candidate, but also as a volunteer or staffer. Could you see yourself as a politician, in a support role? Compared to our panelists, how do you think you would approach your campaign?

Campaigning is a big undertaking and usually requires a lot of money. However, if I were to help a campaign as a volunteer, I’d think that I would be best able to help through getting voters informed over the phone or by going door to door, as many of the panelists said were essential to winning a campaign.

Besides the above questions, my biggest takeaway from the event was how many times each panelist had lost an election and how differently they all responded to failure. However, their presence as members of the Missouri legislature showed me that successful failures are key to future success; truly, we should never give up if we are passionate about something.

Where there any comments by the panelists that struck you as especially true, upsetting, inspiring, and/or thought provoking? What were the stories that stood out to you?

I enjoyed how realistic the politicians were. Each of them understood each other and were more than happy to listen to the others on the panel and the audience. None of them were egotistical about their positions. I found this really pertinent and eye-catching because I feel like many citizens don’t realize that there are political individuals that use their jobs as tools to reach out to their community. They seemed to all try to make a difference in their areas! I found that extremely impressive. I have come across a local politician who usually makes empty promises and stands back from the community, participating in new contracts that the citizens absolutely oppose.

Overall, this experience was enlightening because I finally met some political individuals that found it important to reach out to the general public in their jobs. I believe that every student in that room felt that they were experiencing something with a “real” person that day, instead of a figure or persona that signs dumb contracts that the city has to vote on. They work, they participate, and they prosper.

Unfortunately, I dropped the ball on the first two days of blogging. I have saved drafts, but the perfectionist inside me says I shouldn’t publish them now since I rushed to partially complete them. Also, I believe they would pop up above Bobbi’s most recent post and mess everything up.

Today, I was very moved by the elected officials sitting down in one room together and discussing with high schoolers. I think what impressed me the most was the malleability of their political affiliation. Representative Stacey Newman had (if I may so myself) wonderful ideologies on social issues that were forged by experiences in her lifetime. Her story alone was amusing. And, although Newman was democratic, she listened intently to the Republican of the room, Alderman Linda Rallo. Rallo also seemed to amaze me.  Although she was a self-proclaimed ‘fiscal’ conservative, she was pro-choice, and a moderate republican. Rarity and individuality in a career such as hers is career suicide. I find it very admirable that she sticks to her guns on issues that she is passionate about. The other individuals in the room were also moderate and pliable.

That is what blew my mind. The moderate and rational tone was remarkable. Different people with different political parties had a calm conversation. Perhaps this cooperation can be indebted to the shared campaigning experiences (the main topic of discussion), or by the lack of media attention given to small events like a high school program. Regardless, their behavior impressively contrasted the morally undeveloped attitudes at the board of elections. The black and white opinion smearing of politics seemed to be non-existent today. I enjoyed that.