Back Again
Well hasn’t it been quite a while since our last catch up. I do apologise for the delay and radio silence on things. A lot has been going on since my last post. It’s probably best to explain some of it.
You may or may not have been aware of the State Election in New South Wales which recently happened on March 25th. Well, I was involved as one of the coordinators for the campaign team for the electorate of Riverstone which is located in Sydney’s North West region.
It was a demanding role that took over my life, especially when we got closer to the election day. Now, when I say that, it is not in anyway a bad thing. I completely devoted myself to serving the Labor campaign and was proud of my efforts as I believe they will benefit the community.
The specific role I had was Direct Voter Contact Coordinator. Originally, I was only the Doorknocking Coordinator but the guy running the Phonebanking side of things became a father and had to step away from his role. Which is completely reasonable, although it did mean that I would need to step up and take on those duties as well. Whoops I should probably explain what Doorknocking and Phonebanking is.
Doorknocking is exactly what you imagine, you knock on a door and you try to have a conversation with a voter. While Phonebanking is a similar concept but solely over the phone. Those two activities fall under the banner of Direct Voter Contact or DVC, which I have learned from a mentor is one of the best ways to get a message out there, by having conversations with real people.
As the coordinator, I had to organise the lists of addresses and phone numbers that had to be attempted, recruit volunteers and roll up my sleeves and have conversations myself (All while still working my normal job in the daytime and doing the essential life admin). These DVC activities were executed each and every day of the campaign for nine weeks. It was tough but I loved every minute of it.
On weekends, my entire 48 hours were dedicated to the campaign in whatever capacity I was needed, and as time progressed my thoughts and actions were centred on the campaign and what issues the community cared about. Riverstone, this electorate of mine is a case study (FYI I will be doing a breakdown of the Riverstone Electorate and it’s history in the coming weeks, just putting my thoughts together first).
Then the final week came along, I took work off and did a whole week of early voting handouts running on two hours sleep each night. I really can’t list all the things that happened because there are too many to mention. Let’s just say, it was the most full on experience I have ever had. I can’t wait for the next one.
Oh and just to let you know, March 25th came, and Warren Kirby, the man who provided me with one of the things I sometimes can feel I am missing in my life, Hope, won the NSW State seat of Riverstone. All the hard work the campaign team put in, paid off. Just today, when I was writing this, I got a message from Warren saying that he has received the official welcome to State Parliament.
What a time to be alive
Hey Hedites, I know this one was a bit of a ramble, I’ve only just returned back to the land of the living. But movign forward things should fall back into the normal schedule of uploads, thanks for being understanding.
Jordan Hedi Productions 