I received my campaign literature cards earlier this week (which you can view elsewhere at this Blog), and decided this weekend looked perfect to get out and meet some of the voters. Retail campaigning, as it's referred to by many, is the heart & soul of a campaign of this nature.
And, while for many homes, I'll simply be delivering a card for them to hopefully pick up, look over, and learn more about me and my candidacy, for about 1000 homes this fall, I'll be stopping at their door, and either chatting briefly, or leaving a card with a handwritten note, "Sorry I missed you! Wes."
I'm going to primarily focus on one precinct in Andover that I hope is favorable to me (about 45 hours of door-knocking is required), but I also needed to get started, and get some "practice" at going up to homes and saying "Hi, I'm Wes Volkenant and I'm running for Andover City Council. I was walking through your neighborhood today with my campaign brochure. I'd like you to take one, read it over, and consider voting for me this fall. Thank you."
I spent about 3 1/2 hours this beautiful Saturday afternoon, stopping by 91 homes. I was in a neighborhood where S. Coon Creek Dr. meets Round Lake Blvd., and talked with folks on the 144th and 145th blocks of Round Lake, on the 3300 and 3400 blocks of Round Lake Blvd., on on Kerry and Jonquil Streets north of S. Coon Creek Dr. Most of these residents live in Precinct 8, though one group was in Precinct 4, and another in Precinct 2.
One resident on Round Lake Boulevard complained that when the County added lanes and a median, it gave drivers carte blanche to drive at high speed, even in their residential stretch of the road. I can attest that drivers were easily exceeding 55 and 60 MPH - and the noise was a problem. Crossing Round Lake is no easy feat. Another Round Lake resident complained about the littering - especially the cigarette butts that can even be dangerous in drier summers and autumns - and yet he's admonished if his grass clippings get in the street.
Earlier this summer, the City removed a stop sign on S. Coon Creek Dr. Some of you will remember it there by Jonquil - kind of an oddly-placed sign. But residents are noticing its absence. One driver noted that he has difficulty picking out cars coming from the east on S. Coon Creek Dr., as he tries to turn left off Jonquil. Without the stop sign, he's nearly been clipped twice by cars he lost in the sun, and the small rise a few hundred feet east of Jonquil. One mother of three commented on the loss of safety for her children and the family dog - without the stop sign, cars are passing through that area at a much higher speed.
However, the City has put up "Watch for Children" signs, and 30 MPH is posted in that residential stretch, with a 35 MPH posted closer to the Golf Course entrance. Drivers are going too fast, despite all this. Perhaps that stretch needs one of those "How Fast are You Going?" devices stationed on S. Coon Creek Dr. to prompt the speedy types to slow it down.
I was surprised that a few folks have already given the Council some thought. One gentleman was glad Don Jacobson is running again - they attend the same church. But a few other residents were dissatisfied with both Julie Trude and Mr. Jacobson. One is bothered by the continued director role Don Jacobson has with Connexus Energy, and in seeing a conflict of interests, questioned which hat Don wears, when. And another suggested that Julie Trude had an agenda when she was elected ten years ago; her opportunity in 2010 was in trying for the County Board - perhaps she should have just moved on this year.
What a pleasure meeting many of you today! Sunday, I head to the Hummingbird St. & Ct. area where Hanson Blvd. intersects with Andover Blvd. I'm still waiting on my lawn signs, and hope to get them this week - the finalized order went in two weeks ago - and hopefully start putting them out later this week.
MPR put out an important article this week on the budget woes cities face around Minnesota. Here's a link: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/09/14/ground-level-cities-in-crisis-budget-cuts/. Take some time to read this one over.
Second day of door-knocking. I visited the NE corner of Precinct 5 - walking through the neighborhood of paired homes (not really duplexes in the traditional sense) off of Andover and Hanson Blvds - Hummingbird St. and Ct. - and a bit of Andover Blvd. between Hanson and the High School.
ReplyDeleteLots of dogs today! Lots! One jumped up on his hind paws and gave me a kiss right in my face! I seemed popular with the dogs today - too bad they couldn't vote.
One woman can't see well any longer - can't read - and is dependent on her daughter. I suggested that if she can get the city's cable channel 16, she could tune in our October 18 candidate forum and form her own opinion, even if she can't read all our literature.
Too many houses for sale - or foreclosed. Out of 64 in the one neighborhood, three were empty - with signage, one was sold, and one didn't have any signs - but no furniture inside, either.
Later, Cheryl and I ventured out to the Prairie Knoll Park neighborbood - between University and the railroad tracks, and we delivered literature from the car. These houses are much more spread out - like other parts of Andover, so we either put these in their news[paper boxes or taped them to the mail box posts. I checked with the Post Office last month - as long as it's not in or attached to the mail box, itself, we're OK. Cheryl found a way of circling some that used piping for the post - she just taped the two ends together as a wrap - blue painter's tape, of course! :-)