One Neighbor has had enough!
Reader submitted blogpost:
Dear Craig,
Alderman Moore and his quadrennial intimidation of the 49th ward is underway. It began night before last with ringing of the doorbell. My husband answered, and the Joe minion demanded to know if husband would be voting for Joe. My husband politely say "no" and closed the door.
Not content to have received a “no” answer, they came back on Tuesday.
It was my turn as I answered after insistent ringing that wouldn’t stop (I was on a 'work call' and didn’t want to be disturbed). Poll worker is taking notes and wants to know if I can be counted on as:
1) voting for Joe;
2) not voting for Joe;
3) undecided.
I told the guy I had no comment and was busy. My response was noted on paper on the minion’s clipboard.
Really, it’s unconscionable. How many residents of any place in the world except the most tyrannical countries (like North Korea, Cuba, Burma, Turkmenistan) are subjected to the lord of the manor demanding to know how residents will vote? How many residents of any place in the U.S. have their voting plans notated by the incumbent’s office?
I’ve lived in other wards of the city but never experienced anything like this. I never experienced anything like this when I lived in Ohio or Maryland or Washington, D.C. (the incumbent there was too busy snorting coke, I suppose).
This voter harassment happened last election (though, thankfully, the minion-intimidators didn’t start ringing the doorbell til about 2 weeks before the election).
Am I being a baby? Has anyone else who has lived anywhere else ever experienced this? Is this Joe’s progressive view for Rogers Park? Voter harassment in the third degree. I didn’t know that was part of the DNC platform?
So, Joe, are you going to intimidate, harass, and otherwise run roughshod over Rogers Park residents’ constitutional rights to one person, one vote for the next 6 weeks?
Is this the way you plan to hold on to your job – by harassing the residents nightly? How pathetic is it that you have to harass and intimidate voters?
Please Stop!
You’ve had 16 years to get my vote. It’s too late. And another thing: if your campaign minion-intimidator-notetakers rings my doorbell one more time, I will write a 'letter to the editor' of every paper I can think of touting your campaign strategy of voter harassment (and, make no mistake, ringing the same doorbell nightly is harassment and intimidation).
Then, I will file a complaint with the Board of Elections and maybe even Peter Fitzgerald.
Finally, I’ll call the police and report your workers for stalking and harassment. Good grief. Your campaign is worse than all the begging, door ringing panhandlers I’ve suffered over the years. At least they wait a week before they beg again. Which reminds me that Moore has protected Rogers Park’s diversity so well that we can say with some certainty that we have the same number of drug addicted panhandlers today as we did 16 years ago. Good work, Joe!
Signed,
Stop knockin' on my door - I'm not voting for you.
19 comments:
I will tell Joe here on Broken Heart - No! I am not voting for you, Joe.
I'm guessing they didn't like the responses from their phone polls so sent humans out in the cold to 'persuade' voters.
The person wanting the office should be out there begging for votes, not volunteers.
Intimidation? Oh no, we don't practice that HERE!
They stopped by our place as well.. Rang the buzzer and asked if they could count on me to vote for Moore. I said "No" and to their credit they didn't hassle me or ask follow-ups.
It's just good ol fashioned door to door campaigning. OK so they sent two people to your door, I can see that would be a bit of a nuisance. I don't see what the big deal is???
Ten bucks says if it was a worker from a candidate you supported you might feel different and even make them a cup o tea!
This is nothing about nothing IMO
PS I think you meant to say you would Call Patrick J. Fitzgerald not Peter.
I'm sure Patrick would call you back personally and and use you as a key witness in his investigation of campaign workers campaigning!
Funny
There is a difference between candidates and their minions knocking and telling residents about themselves or trying to convince people to vote for them and simply demanding to know HOW residents plan on voting. This was not campaigning. It is harassment and intimidation.
Craig,
I think it a shame that you posted this letter. I think it reflects two thing: (1.) a bias against one candidate (but that should be assumed) and (2.) a lack of familiarity with the political process.
This woman is not the victim of "voter harrasment" or "intimidation", she's just a victim of a mistake. What probably occured is the original volunteer that visited the home didn't record the husbands answer or didn't turn in the sheets with the voter roll (where the answer was recorded). This means that the answer wasn't recorded in the computer - then they didn't have it on record that the home had been canvassed within the last week, and they didn't have it on recorded that the home had been a solid "NO". Therefore they visited the home again. They didn't visit the home twice one purpose because they aren't inept at campaigning. They know that the Rule number one in politics is - once you've id'd a voter as for the opponent - YOU NEVER VISIT THEM AGAIN.
I would like to note, however, that voting homes at which you have undecided voters or a "yes", more than once is common place - especially when it comes to grassroots politics. The best way to get someones vote is to speak to them face to face. Back in the day GOTV (get out the vote) used to be called GET ON TV. This is no longer the case. As citizens get more and more skeptical of the political system (and less and less interested) it's difficult to persuade them with pieces of mail, robo calls or giants ads. The only way to reach them is face to face. Peer-to-Peer contact is the standard method to get someone to support the candidate of your choice.
This polling doesn't represent voter intimidation - it represent progressive politics at work. It's the grassroots. Greg Brewer - Bernie Stone's competition in the 50th - is doing the same. Accordign to Bridget Dooley, their Field Director, the Brewer Campaign is on a 5 visit strategy. They aren't just visiting homes - they're visiting homes 5 times before the 27th. That's how elections are won.
I agree with Charlie Didrickson: "it's just good ol fashioned door to door campaigning."
lie
say "yes, you can count on me!"
they will go away
no need to talk to you anymore
it's your big chance!
you get to lie to Joe Moore for a change
before you answer
ask them where they live
if they say "in the neighborhood" ask where
Charlie,
Add something worthwhile to the discussion or take it over to your, oops I mean Alderman Moore's site.
Thanks for reading, now go back to the lurk mode.
Oh, and Charlie, what happened? Did you forget to post the Special Service Area tax levy #24 meeting notice and minutes?
Margot,
Knowing where you live, Alderman Moore already has your house on the 'do not call list'!
I'm guessing there's even a note, don't even bother opening the gate.
I totally agree with Charlie and Collegebound. IDing your plus voters and getting them out to vote is basic Chicago politics. Maybe if the dems did it as well as the Christian Coalition we wouldn't have Jr. wasting young lives and screwing up the economy. Joe's workers have come to my door several times. With the exception of some very basic lit from Adams, I have gotten zippo from the other candidates.
Charlie why did you remove the community bulletin board on rogerspark.com?
Charlie why did you remove the community bulletin board on rogerspark.com?
It became a nightmare and way to much work dealing with the spammers. Besides that it seemed very few people were interested in using it....
We are exploring other options for software and general management of it regarding moderators etc.
If your interested feel free to email me.
Thanks
There is a difference in campaigning -- leaving behind literature, trying to persuade voters -- and demanding to know WHO one is voting for and taking notes. The latter situation, done by an incumbent, has threatening overtones to it. RP is littered with people who have not supported and/or crossed Joe and then found themselves SOL when it comes to getting permits, etc. These workers were not campaigning. They were taking names and notes. Very Pres. Turkmanbashy (the first and lifetime president of Turkmenistan).
That's why a little education is intimidatin' i.e. 'keep the voters dumb'
What? I'm mean! Haha! Oh, Okay.
And to screwedtaxpayer - IDing voters is key to any eledtion. And I'm willing to be that the people canvassing precints are certainly passing out literature. And did you just compare Joe Moore to the former dictator of Turkmenistan?
Wow, I'm sorry - I didn't realize Moore had written his own book and forced children in his ward to read the book. I'm sorry - I didn't realize Moore had suspended the writ to habeas corpus and rid the city of ballet, the opera and lyp singing. Wow. That Joe Moore - quite the dictator.
The action of knocking on doors and IDing voters is the exact opposite of a dictatorship - its engaging citizens into our democracy. It's a shame the other candidates aren't doing the same.
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