BRUNDIN:
They sidle up silently, steathily to your door. They clutch binders, and look very intense. They knock on your door.
(knock knock sound)
You answer, your mouth stuffed with meatloaf. No matter. It's campaign time and the person at your door wants your vote.
ARENT: "Hi! My name's Patrice Arent and I represent you in the Utah Legislature..."
Arent is running for re-election-- her third time. Door-to-door campaigning seems to be her forte. Though her district is roughly 3.5 miles wide and 3.5 miles long, Arent's determined to hit every household. She's a pro at this -- genuine, yet knowing how to size up a voter quickly, and focus on what might interest them. She quickly weaves in and out of taxes.
ARENT: "Frankly I don't favor a small tax increase because I think it means so little by the time it gets to people."
Over-sized classrooms.
ARENT: "I know in my own daughter's school in the Granite School District, there's a lot of classes she can't bring home a book because aren't enough books to go around."
Arent humors a father out strolling his young son with a story of her own son's assessment of her job.
ARENT: "She talks on the phone, she plays on a computer, and the best thing is she gets to press buttons!
Arent clearly loves going door to door. But life on the campaign trail can be discouraging. Candidates say the average person doesn't know who their legislator is, and many seem to have no concerns whatsoever about state government.
ARENT: I also want to know if you have any concerns or problems
with state government. Any issues that you're worried about.
CONSTITUENT: No I don't. Your name again is? Patrice Arent.
NEXT SCENE: ARENT: have any concerns about state government?
Not anything right now
NEXT SCENE: ARENT: Any concerns about state government? No.
NEXT SCENE: ARENT: Do you have any concerns about state government?
(constituent laughs) How come a lot of people laughs when
i ask that question?"
Arent has a well-organized campaign. But for first-time campaigners, it can take awhile to (Brundin clears throat) get it together.
SONG: "Wild Weekend" by the Rebels
CANDIDATE: "I've got a large banner made. And I went in and picked it up at
the last possible moment. And one of my campaign workers and
I held it up and said, 'Oh, it is gorgeous! It is so gorgeous!'
And representative was spelled wrong."
CANDIDATE: "And come to find out it was like quicksand--
it went up to my knees-- so I literally got stuck in the mud."
CANDIDATE: "One Wednesday I got nipped by a dog and fell
over a large garbage sack."
CANDIDATE: "So I had to have the two workers literally pull
me out of the mud. And, by the way, the voter who in the house
watching all this came out and said I'm definitely voting
for you're quite hilarious."
CANDIDATE: "You pound your finger in between the board and
the sledge hammer, putting up the signs or something."
CANDIDATE: "Every once in a while I will misspeak-- instead
of who I am and where I stand, I say this is where I am and
who I stand, as if I don't know where I am and I have to remind
them, or there's a whole bunch of people I can't stand and
there's a list here of people I can stand." (laughs)
CANDIDATE: "And just things like, you know, printing 300
labels all on the wrong side."
SONG: "Politician" by Yellow Man
The reality is, campaigning is a lot of plain, honest hard work. Especially at the outset of a campaign, says Ally Isom - campaign manager for attorney general candidate Mark Shurtleff.
SONG: "Hard Day's Night" by the Beatles
ISOM: "This campaign started in my kitchen. At my kitchen table, I was in my pajamas half the time working in the morning because I took calls from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and we really were a grass roots, bare bones campaign. It's exhausting. It's exhausting. My husband and I go out and sometimes we're out until one o'clock in the morning in there pounding signs in just because we want people to see his name."
Oh the signs-a particularly irksome aspect of campaigning for Representative Trisha Beck.
BECK: I get calls from people saying Representative Beck I went to bed and I had a sign up for you and I woke up and your opponent's sign's in its place, or your sign's missing. I get those regularly-- I've probably had about six already this morning.
And it can get worse.
BECK: "Somebody left a dead mouse in a newspaper bag on my intern's front step. It was during the subliminal message that Democrats are rats.
SONG: "Politician" by Cream
But one thing is true, the higher the stakes, the higher the office, the higher the tension level. Many newcomers to the political game, in contrast, insist upon having fun while doing the hard work of going door to door.
WILDE: "Go Wilde."
That's candidate Maggie Wilde's campaign slogan.
WILDE: "Right now tonight, we're walking on the wild side as we go through neighborhoods."
She's hitting the neighborhoods tonight with her son and daughter-in-law. Wilde's dressed in sensible hiking shoes, a blue blazer and cream slacks. She's careful to do deep knee-bends when leaving pamphlets on doorsteps.
WILDE: "My son said, 'Mom, get in the car, Mom get in the car,' and I got in the car and sat on 10 tomatoes. So I have to stand pretty upright tonight."
Wilde is soft-spoken, and people-- especially young mothers-- seem to open up to her.
WILDE: "I want to spend more time and more money on education."
CONSTITUENT: "Well, Crescent Elementary has 28 kids in their
kindergarten classes, and if you go around this neighborhood..."
Much of talk is about issues. Some voters are truly pleased that a candidate has made the effort to come to their door.
Candidate Pat Jones recalls a man from India who invited her into his home.
JONES: "...and he was really excited that I was not only woman, but a Democrat. He brought out his 4th grade daughter, beautiful little girl, and she looked up at me and he sat her down and explained the whole process, how the legislature works. And here's a woman that is running for the Legislature. And I felt like a VIP. And I thought, what a great learning tool for a father to do that with his child. I would love to see that more often."
But life on the campaign trail can be memorable for other reasons.
SONG: "Rebel Rouser" by Duane Eddy and His Twangy Guitar
CANDIDATE: "One gentleman came to the door in his underwear-- full, front
and center-- and I tried to keep my eyes at eye level and
gave him my spiel."
CANDIDATE: "I did help a lady roll up her hose Saturday before
last. We got it rolled up and taken around the back and I
think it turns out she's not even registered."
CANDIDATE: "It's wonderful. People for the most part are
very gracious, very kind. They would like you to hurry up,
though, when they're watching 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire.'"
(laughs)
CANDIDATE: "Last time I walked my district twice with myself
and my vounteers. I actually had to have foot surgery afterwards.
So I did wear out my feet."
CANDIDATE: "I'm starting to get joint pain in my knees, but
you know what? Why go to the gym?"
CANDIDATE: "One nice thing about the campaign trail is is
that there are a lot of fruit trees on the trail. We've enjoyed
some very delicious plums and apples and pears and peaches.
Call it a perk."
SONG: "Fruit Salad" by the Wiggles
Candidate Jay Vance, running in Bountiful and North Salt Lake, says it's essential to maintain one's sense of humor, especially when you're the underdog. Though he's serious about the issues, voters can also check out his website-- jayvance.com-- to vote among five choices for his campaign song. So far, it shows "The Impossible Dream" leading the pack.
SONG: "Dream the Impossible Dream" by Frank Sinatra
VANCE: "It is leading the poll. I've had more than two dozen people vote on my song. It's leading the poll by one vote over 'Chimes of Freedom.' I like that song. It kind of captures what it's like running as a Democrat in a Republican district.
Portion of Song: "No matter how hopeless..."
BRUNDIN: "Should you be elected, will you be playing the winner at your victory
party?"
VANCE: "If I'm elected, I will sing the winner at my victory
party. (laughs) I'm not an accomplished singer but I can make
that promise right here without blinking an eye."
On the campaign trail, I'm Jenny Brundin.
