ioCulture

Experiences participating in a political campaign

Kelley Ware
Multimedia Coordinator

he last four weeks I have been involved in
a mayoral campaign.

It originally began back in April, when Lyn
Hall had approached me to talk over coffee.
Once there, Lyn talked to me about his plan
to run for mayor, asked whether I felt the
time was right for him, and if I wanted to

get involved in the campaign. I am a student
looking for anything I can to set myself apart
from the crowd, and Lyn had been one of my
favourite councillors—I gave an ecstatic yes.

Throughout the summer, we had one meeting
with a team of people interested in the
campaign. The meeting was a couple hours

in a living room discussing the realities of
Prince George politics, what people need,
what people want, what can be given, and
how a campaign should be formed. I was the
youngest person in the room by far, and had
managed to hear some things about Prince
George politics that was information for the
“in” crowds. I was told they wanted me as a
university liaison, to connect the campaign to
the students and get the students out to vote.

The rest of the summer and September
passed uneventfully. Come October, the
tone changed substantially. First of all,
my position had changed. Rather than a
university liaison (which I had assumed
would make me a contact at the university
that volunteered to phone for them every
once in a while) I was going to be the
Office and Volunteer Coordinator for Lyn
Hall’s mayor campaign. This meant that

I was in charge of the front office as well
as the volunteers who would be covering
phoning, the front end, and other events
necessary for the campaign to flourish.

It was both rewarding and incredibly
stressful. Between office coverage, part
time jobs, and classes I was probably
pulling a 60 plus hour work weeks for a

month straight. I will admit to sharing
a couple of “stress cries” with the
campaign manager, Michelle Marrelli.

Despite the personal stress, the campaign
was one of the most rewarding experiences

I have ever had. The amount I learned from
the people involved was incredible. These
lessons were not just tied to the things I was
doing on a day-to-day basis (though I learned
a ton about office organization, contacting
people, and effectively using people we have)
but lessons that will stay with me forever.

One of the lessons that I will hold with me
actually came from social media. On Election
Day, someone was being incredibly negative
on Facebook about both candidates, and
voting in general. I got suckered in from my
personal account before Michelle told me to
stop. I listened, (although I did not know why
and did not agree). However, an hour or so
later, I saw that Lyn had posted something
positive, reaching out to chat with this
person. The final post the person had written
was thanking Lyn, saying he had made up

his mind, and was on his way to vote. It was

a deeply moving lesson for me to realize

that positive campaigns do work, and that
kindness (even in politics) can be rewarded.

I learned an incredible amount about the
Prince George community and how amazing
it can be when we come together regardless
of political stripes. We had an incredibly
diverse group of volunteers spanning
different age groups (there was a sixty year
gap between myself and one of the gentlemen
that was involved), ethnicities, and political
backgrounds. On Election Day, we got a
picture of David McWalter, a man who had
worked on Sheri Green’s campaign last

time around, next to federal NDP candidate
Lois Boone wearing matching “Lyn Hall for
Mayor” t-shirts. Everything I experienced
in this campaign reminded and reinforced
the idea that there is great possibilities

and great things in Prince George.

The fact that Lyn Hall won shocked a few

people across Prince George. It was an
incredibly emotional time for all of us. After
the winner was announced, hugs and tears
were shared with nearly everyone in the
Golf and Curling Club. I was crying the entire
night, knowing that not only did all the
hard work pay off, but that we are looking
towards an amazing four years in Prince
George. Lyn even thanked me personally

in his acceptance speech, and it still makes
me shake or tear up when I rewatch it.

Two days after the election, we cleaned up

the office. It was also an emotional time since
I had spent so much of the last four weeks
there. Near the end, Lyn pulled me aside.

He told me that he was getting sworn in on
December 1st and that I should be there.

He also reminded me of the Council liaison
positions and told me I should get a team
together and think about what Councillor we
want to work with to discuss student needs.

That reminded me that this is not
the end, it is only the beginning.

PY

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