Local presidential election
volunteers hit the streets

By Stephen O’Toole
For the Times

While mid-summer means barbecues and family vacations for most Philadelphians, the order of business for local volunteers on both sides of the historic presidential election is all about the campaign.
The group "Fishtown for Obama" opened a temporary headquarters at East Girard Avenue and Marlborough Street last month, and volunteers like Aislin Thompson have been registering voters and spreading the word about the Democratic senator from Illinois.
"We’re just really excited about getting the neighborhood involved," said Thompson, a 21-year-old Fishtown native. "We want everyone to be involved."
Meanwhile, Republican John McCain might be facing an uphill battle in the heavily Democratic Philadelphia, but the campaign’s city headquarters recently opened for business at Cottman and Frankford avenues in Mayfair, and supporters there are decidedly optimistic about the Arizona senator’s chances.
"There are areas in the city where we will do extremely well," said Joseph DeFelice, city director for the local GOP and head of McCain’s city headquarters.
DeFelice said volunteers at the headquarters have been working hard to register voters and get out the word about McCain.
Daily reports on various political polls and surveys have shown everything from a double-digit lead for Barack Obama to a statistical dead heat between the two candidates.
"Hopefully we can quell Obama’s support in the city and help McCain win Pennsylvania statewide," said 18-year-old Michael Morrison, a Republican volunteer who will cast his first presidential vote in November.
For Thompson and her fiancé, 22-year-old Matthew Sullivan, it will be the second time they vote in a presidential election. The two began dating four years ago while they both worked on Sen. John Kerry’s presidential campaign.
Thompson and Sullivan said their experience so far with the Obama campaign has been decidedly different than the Kerry campaign.
"With John Kerry, it was more about not being George Bush," Thompson said. "But with Obama, it’s about him and his ideas for the future."
Sullivan agreed. He, like many outside of Illinois, first became impressed by Obama during his speech at the 2004 Democratic convention.
Sullivan said Obama’s ability to reach a wide range of people is something that had helped him stand out and eventually become the presumptive Democratic nominee.
"Also, his community involvement in Chicago shows that he understands the issues we face here in Philadelphia, as well as in other cities around the country," Sullivan said.
Morrison, however, does not believe Obama has the same level of character possessed by war-hero McCain. He said the fundamental difference between candidates is substance.
"Obama is an inspiring guy, but it takes a man of conviction to run the White House," said Morrison, who lives near the McCain campaign’s Mayfair headquarters.
Morrison, who is black, also urged other black Americans to take a second look at the candidates before voting for Obama. Most polls have shown that more than 90 percent of blacks plan to vote for Obama.
"Dr. King said race is irrelevant, and it’s an insult to feel that black Americans have some sort of duty to vote for Obama," Morrison said.
Morrison’s political interests were sparked by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when he was in middle school. He began working for politicians during a local campaign in 2006 and has been active with the city’s Republican Party ever since.
While being a conservative in a mostly liberal town can be difficult, being a teenager presents additional challenges, Morrison said.
"Young people tend to be more liberal, and it’s easy to be a Democrat in this city, but I can handle myself," Morrison said.
"If you’re going to be an outcast, someone who goes against the grain, you have to know what you’re talking about," he added.
Meanwhile, regardless of party affiliation, working for a campaign gives volunteers the chance to meet countless people and help educate them about the voting process.
Thompson said she has met several 17-year-olds who thought they could not vote in this election. She had to remind them that as long as they turn 18 by Election Day, Nov. 4, they will be able to vote.
Thompson also said she has had several good, civil conversations with McCain supporters, perhaps showing signs of cracks in the partisan wall many feel has dominated national politics during the Bush administration.
"We’re happy to talk to anybody, and we want to talk to everybody no matter who they’re voting for," Thompson said.
She also said some people were under the impression they had already voted for Obama, not realizing that the primary campaign in April was only a precursor to the general election.
Thompson, whose other family members are also volunteers, said she helped start a group called Philadelphia Irish for Change to tap into the deep Irish roots in Fishtown and other parts of the city.
Sullivan said Fishtown was the kind of neighborhood that would benefit from Obama’s urban political experience and his ideas for the future.
"Obama will be good for working people, and he will be good for Fishtown," Sullivan said. ••