ELECTION DAY VOLUNTEERS — Dozens of PEF volunteers arrive in Scranton, PA on election day to get voters there to the polls.
Photos by Tim Raab
PEF volunteers help win NH, PA for Kerry; work hard in NYS races too
By SHERRY HALBROOK
PEF members worked harder than ever before to make a difference in political campaigns throughout the state and in the national presidential election and it paid off, not just in wins for the vast majority of candidates PEF endorsed, but in building insights, skills, contacts and a political mobilization structure that now extends far beyond the borders of New York state.
“Intense member involvement in many of these races resulted in six victories and a potential win or loss in a state Senate race where the outcome is still undecided,” said PEF President Roger Benson.
“Of course, the biggest disappointment in this election was the re-election of President George W. Bush,” Benson added. “Our activists worked in the crucial swing states of Pennsylvania and New Hampshire primarily, with a few traveling as far as Ohio and Minnesota. PEF provided nine full-time ‘heroes’ to the campaign waged by one of PEF’s international affiliates — the Service Employees International Union — and hundreds of weekend warriors; and approximately 60 members and staff who traveled Election Day to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania to get out the vote in that crucial swing state. The experience we got from this campaign is a stepping stone to our even greater involvement and effectiveness in future elections that benefit our members.”
GETTING STARTED — PEF election volunteers receive assignments and directions in the get-out-the-vote campaign in Pennsylvania. — Photo by Tim Raab
Although Bush was re-elected, PEF activists were heartened to see their efforts in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania paid off when John Kerry won those states.
“We got the word out that we needed volunteers and a lot of new faces showed up to get on the buses for New Hampshire and Pennsylvania,” said PEF Legislative Director and Counsel Brian Curran. “And it paid off in the states where we worked.”
In the last four days of the campaign, volunteers in PEF Region 10 made 4,000 phone calls to union members in another crucial swing state, Florida. Many of these same activists also climbed aboard a bus in late October to walk door-to-door and talk with union voters in Pennsylvania.
PEF Region 8 volunteers, led by Coordinator Lou Matrazzo and Political Action Chair Tom Comanzo, made several trips to New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, while others made phone calls for candidates in state races, such as Bob Reilly.
Likewise, in western New York, Region 1 PEF leaders and activists helped push congressional candidate Brian Higgins to victory in a tight race to fill the vacant seat in the 27th District — considered one of the top three congressional races in the nation. At the same time, PEF activists there also worked with SEIU and the American Federation of Teachers to get out the vote in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
In Region 3, they pulled out the stops for state Assembly Member Susan John, and Region 4 members devoted themselves to the re-election of state Sen. Nancy Larraine Hoffman who won the Republican primary, but narrowly lost re-election.
Region 9 members worked to re-elect Nick Spano to the state Senate in a “squeaker” that may have to be decided in court.
“All over this state, we had members getting involved in these elections who had never been active in political campaigns before,” Benson said. “They can all be very proud of what they did, and we are proud and appreciative of them too.”
MEMBER TO MEMBER — At left, Tom Comanzo calls volunteers and above Carlos Garcia talks to a Scranton voter on election day.
— Photo at left by Sherry Halbrook, above by Tim Raab
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