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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels July 16, 2004 Downtown Bates 'kickoff' engages young voters into politics while tapping their energy Andrew Scot Bolsinger The traditional start of the election season for Democrats is Labor Day. But with campaigns growing more contentious and costly, everyone knows Labor Day is much too late. For Allan Bates, Democratic challenger for the state Senate seat previously held by Republican Lenn Hannon, the race begins in earnest, this weekend. The seat is widely regarded as a heated race - "a targeted race," as its known in politico-speak - where Democrats hope to gain ground in the Senate. Republicans field a serious candidate to oppose him in Jim Wright, whose ties to Ashland include graduating from the city high school and Southern Oregon University and time on the Oregon Shakespeare Festival board. In reality, the campaign started months ago - and so did the planning. Former Ashland Mayor Cathy Shaw, campaign guru for Allan Bates, is deep into the political season. Shaw however, jumped at the idea that this weekend's events were Bates' "kickoff." Despite all the hard work behind the scenes, this weekend is the first significant public splash for Bates. "Yeah, I like that," she said excitedly. "Let's call it a kickoff." Oregon Bus Project Shaw has a reason to feel excited. She and the rest of the Bates campaign, with the help of the local Democratic Party, have arranged to bring the Oregon Bus Project to town Saturday and Sunday. The project is designed to engage young voters in the process, while tapping their energy to recruit more votes. This weekend, 50 volunteers from around the state, "mostly medical students and college students," Shaw says, will board a bus in the Portland/ Salem area and make the I-5 southward trek to Ashland. Once here they will be paired with local volunteers to canvass the entire city of Ashland in support of Bates. Not only does the process promote the candidate but it bolsters the volunteers' own level of involvement and interest in the political process. With the paucity of voting among those under the age of 25, perhaps nothing could be more valuable. Shaw calls it "the most ambitious thing I have done in 10 years." Locals may see the group's buttons that simply say, "I'm on the bus," that tout an energetic wave of young voters who defy the percentages and take the time to get politically involved. The weekend The busload of volunteers parachute in on Saturday ready to get to work. For Shaw and others here, the work has been going on a long time. The Bates campaign had to organize 50 local volunteers who could drive the 50 commandos around. Additionally, all these workers need places to stay. "And we need to feed them," Shaw says. Once fed, the group will cover the entire city in about two to three hours. Shaw calls the night activities, "a knock," meaning they will be knocking on doors to sway voters for Bates. The next morning, the group again gathers and heads to Phoenix and Talent. This time it's "a drop," meaning they will simply drop leaflets on every doorstep. Shaw is quick to point out that banging on doors early Sunday morning would not be the best way to recruit voters, not to mention the safety risk "the knock" would present to the volunteers that early in the morning. A wise choice, indeed. The Oregon Bus Project typically heads to more conservative areas of contested races. Shaw admits that Ashland doesn't quite fit that norm. "It's a bit of preaching to the choir here, but Ashland voters will be great to them." Shaw is also particularly excited that so many medical students are making the trek on behalf of Bates, himself a physician. Shaw says Bates offers unique leadership that appeals to many in the medical field. He's uniquely qualified, she says. "He's been a small business owner, a drug rep, so he totally gets health care. And now he has his feet under him in the Legislature, so he is coming up with really innovative ways to get things done." Andrew Scot Bolsinger is the Daily Tidings editor and author of a novel, "If Pennies Could Talk." Contact him at: [email protected] DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams