Reversing Course: Iowa Comes to Evanston.

In 2008, hundreds of volunteers set off from our office to canvass in Iowa on behalf of Barack Obama. Now something of the reverse is taking place: young Mitch Schaben, an Iowan who just set foot here a few weeks ago, is going door to door in Evanston to engage with people who cast their first votes ever to send Barack Obama to the White House. Mitch is getting to know Evanston ward by ward, and he’s going to let us in on his experiences. But let’s let him tell his story…  

Canvassing.  The very word conjures up images of doors slammed rudely in a face, residential habitats suddenly going dark, eyes peering out from behind curtains.  What was I thinking?  I knew nothing about canvassing!  But here I was, trudging my way through Evanston’s Second Ward, getting ready to knock on my first door and deliver my memorized script, intended to excite and invigorate Barack Obama supporters, both old and new, for the upcoming election.

But, I get ahead of myself.  A little background information is in order.  My name is Mitch Schaben. I was born and raised in a small town in western Iowa.  I recently graduated from Luther College, in northeastern Iowa, with a degree in political science. As any recent graduate can tell you, the prospects of employment are dim and I wasn’t really sure which route I was ready to take – dive into the work force or head to grad school.  As luck would have it, a good friend of mine was living in Evanston  for the summer and said I could live with him while I did some job searching and spent some time figuring out my next steps. So even though I’d never been to Evanston -- or even to Chicago -- I packed up some clothes and my laptop and I was off.

Small town boy goes to big city.  Not to worry.  I had spent some time working as an intern in Washington D.C., so I am at least familiar with living in a large city. After all, once you figure out the transportation system, everything else seems fairly easy, right?  While out exploring the neighborhood one day shortly after my arrival, I walked by the Democratic Party of Evanston office.

Having worked on Obama’s campaign while in  college, I knew I enjoyed campaign work, so I decided to see if they needed any volunteers. I walked in and was immediately greeted with friendly smiles. I met with Toni Gilpin, the Executive Director for the DPOE, and she told me what kind of work they’re doing.  I heard about their Advancing Change program, which involves reaching out to people who cast their first votes ever for Barack Obama.  I could relate to that, because I am one of those first-time Obama voters myself!  I was excited and couldn’t wait to get started.

And that, in a nutshell, is how I ended up spending this past weekend canvassing around the Second Ward. It is the first time that I had ever canvassed and it was an experience that I thoroughly enjoyed. I was hesitant at first to agree to go out by myself. But I thought, what the heck, what would be a better way to explore the surrounding area than to go canvassing. I was a little worried about getting lost, so I talked my roommate into joining me. He was also a little reluctant to canvass, not because he was worried about getting lost, but because it was rather warm out that day and our air conditioned apartment was tempting him to stay behind. After a great deal of begging and pleading, we were off to the Second Ward.

It was about a two mile walk through a beautiful part of the town before we arrived at the four block stretch of our canvassing turf that started on the corner of Grove St. and Ashland. My roommate and I enjoyed the inviting nature of the neighborhood as well as walking through Mason Park. But I was still pretty nervous when I walked up to the first house. I knocked and a young woman answered the door. My mind suddenly went blank and the script I thought I had memorized instantly vanished. But before I could collect my thoughts the words “Obama needs your help,” just spewed out of my mouth and, like a faint memory creeping in the back door, the script slowly returned.

The woman at the door told us that she was excited to see young individuals out canvassing and let us know that we could count on her vote for the November elections.  Wow!  My first score! After that encounter, my nerves settled and talking with people became more natural and much easier. A couple of doors later, we spoke with an elderly gentleman who informed us that he had voted in every single election since the 1960’s. Now if that doesn’t inspire you to vote, I don’t know what does!

While canvassing I met a variety of different people who were supportive of our cause and gave a commitment to vote in the upcoming elections. Canvassing turned out to be a fun activity and a fairly easy way to get involved with the campaign. I encourage those who are willing to volunteer but skeptical about canvassing to simply try it. You might actually enjoy it.

Since meeting Toni that first day, I have spent the majority of my free time working in the office with her and other volunteers.  We’re preparing for more canvassing, we’ve got phone banks going on, and we’ve got a National Day of Action coming up on July 17.  Come in and join us -- maybe I can learn a little bit more about Evanston from you!