Trevor Martindale pens article about students in Practical Politics, on the campaign trail during COVID-19, for the Crow's Nest

 Click here for the article link:  Crow's Nest article

 

 

Campaigning during a pandemic? It’s possible

Trevor Martindale September 20, 2020

Pictured Above: Senior Rebecca Nero campaigns for Jessica Harrington, the Democratic nominee for Florida State House District 64.

Courtesy of Rebecca Nero

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By Trevor Martindale

Political campaigns are trudging through the COVID-19 pandemic through new outreach techniques and USF St. Petersburg students are along for the ride.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, campaigns would hold in-person events and knock on doors to spread awareness and turn out the vote. Now, campaigns are holding events on Zoom and depending on distant mediums such as phone and text banking for voter outreach. 

Student campaign involvement ranges from state house candidates to presidential candidates. 

Senior political science major Rebecca Nero is campaigning for Jessica Harrington, the Democratic nominee for Florida State House District 64. 

“I have mostly done presidential work and I can already tell two days in that I prefer this campaign style over presidential (campaigning),” Nero said. “This is true grassroots in the way we fundraise and do outreach. It is definitely more intimate in the way you interact with volunteers and voters.”

Nero explained that Harrington’s campaign has continued in person outreach through no-contact literature drops at peoples’ doorsteps.

“We do (literature) drops in person but we don’t endanger ourselves, voters and our volunteers,” Nero said. 

She continued to explain that Harrington’s campaign and its volunteers are taking necessary precautions.

“We require masks, social distancing, and we take every precaution to protect our people and our community,” Nero said. “We are not canvassing, as canvassing in a pandemic is extremely unethical.”

Lauren Lewchuk, a political science major who is volunteering for the Joe Biden presidential campaign, was intrigued by her campaign’s approach to the pandemic, contributing to her interest in volunteering. 

“In lieu of the global pandemic and the soaring presence of extreme, frightening partisanship, I am interested in Former Vice President Biden and Senator Harris’ formulation of strategies to combat these aspects of our current ‘normal,’” Lewchuk said. 

Senior political science major Laura Coley is interning for Congressman Charlie Crist’s reelection campaign. 

Despite the obstacles virtual campaigning presents, Coley remains hopeful that she will still gain valuable experience and make important contacts for her future endeavors. 

“I’m hoping to get an internal look at the workings of campaigns and government work from this internship, as well as other valuable working and leadership skills,” Coley said in an email to The Crow’s Nest. “Since I am a senior political science major, this is some experience I need as I prepare for graduation and will hopefully provide me with some insight and post-internship contacts, as I’d love to work in regional, state or federal government after graduation.” 

State Party Chairs for the Florida Democratic Party [Terrie Rizzo] and for the Republican Party of Florida [Senator Joe Gruters] speak with Dr. Judithanne McLauchlan's Practical Politics course

Today's topic:  The Role of Political Parties in Modern Campaigns and Elections 

Who better to speak to the role of the political parties in Florida campaigns and elections than the Chair of the Florida Democratic Party - Terrie Rizzo -- and the Chair of the Republican Party of Florida - Senator Joe Gruters.

Our students were able to ask questions about the parties'  candidate recruitment, voter registration efforts, vote by mail, GOTV, staff, fundraising, platform and messaging, and more.

What a privilege to learn from the state party chairs in our seminar today! THANK YOU for taking time out of your busy schedules to educate our students about the process. 

And thanks also to Senator Gruters for your service on the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus Community Leadership Council.

For more about the FDP:  https://www.floridadems.org/ 

For more about the RPOF: https://florida.gop/

Senator Gruters, Chair Rizzo, and Professor McLauchlan

 

 Senator Joe Gruters, Chair of the Republican Party of Florida

 

Chair Terrie Rizzo, Florida Democratic Party

TERRIE RIZZO, Chair of the Florida Democratic Party

Terrie Rizzo is proud to be chair of the Florida Democratic Party and represents Florida on the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Association of State Democratic Committees (ASDC).  Prior to her election as FDP chair, Rizzo served as the three-term chair of the Palm Beach County Democratic Party, as “chair of chairs” for the Florida Democratic County Chairs Association (DCCA), and as an elected DNC Member. 

Since assuming office in December 2017, Rizzo has worked with Democrats throughout the state to build and transform the Florida Democratic Party. Following record off-year 2018 Democratic turnout and gains which included the first Democratic Cabinet officer elected since 2006 and the largest state legislative delegation since 1998, she launched an unprecedented undertaking to build the party to win in 2020 and beyond. Rizzo believes that focusing on year-round organizing, training and precinct development is key, and building strong county parties and caucuses and relationships with partners is crucial to building a party to fight for all Floridians. 

Always an “engaged citizen and passionate Democrat”, Rizzo first became politically active with Democrats Abroad while living in Europe during the 2000 Presidential Election, and vowed to “get involved and make a difference”. After moving back to the United States, she started her path to activism as a volunteer with the 2004 John Kerry Campaign, then as Committeewoman for her precinct in Boca Raton, and ultimately as Palm Beach County Chairwoman in 2012. Under her leadership, Palm Beach County Democrats developed an organization that is widely regarded as one of the best county organizations in the state of Florida and nationally, focusing on year-round organizing, training and precinct development, and with an emphasis on voting by mail, 

Rizzo has over 40 years of experience in the fields of health & fitness education and communications. She is a specialist in adult exercise and ergonomics. Rizzo and her husband, Mike, an Information Technology executive and consultant, have been married for 50 years and 

have one son, Matthew, a daughter-in-law, Kate, and two grandchildren, Annika and Bo, who live in San Francisco -- Democrats (and future Democrats) all!

State Senator Joe Gruters (R-23), Chair of the Republican Party of Florida

Legislative Service:

Elected to the Senate in 2018

House of Representatives, 2016-2018

Other Public Service:

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), President, appointed and awaiting U.S. Senate confirmation

Electoral College, Florida member, 2016

Florida State University Board of Trustees, member

Florida Sports Foundation Board of Directors, member

Sarasota County Planning Commission, Chairman

 

Honors and Awards:

Florida Homebuilder Association, Senator of the Year, 2019

Fraternal Order of Police, Senator of the Year, 2019

Florida Chamber of Commerce, Distinguished Advocate, 2018, 2019

Small County Coalition Appreciation Award, 2019

Associated Industries of Florida, Champion of Business, 2018

 

Affiliations:

University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus, Community Leadership Council

 

Occupation:       

Certified Public Accountant

 

Education:          

University of South Florida, M.B.A., 2003

Florida State University, B.S., 1999

Presidential Debate Watch Party -- Tuesday, September 29th

 

 

USF St. Petersburg Campus - Crow's Nest Podcast -- with Dr. Judithanne McLauchlan

 Practical Politics student Trevor Martindale is the editor of the USF St. Petersburg campus student newspaper -- the Crow's Nest -- which recently launched a new podcast: Crow's Cast

"In our first political episode of Crow's Cast, Trevor and Catherine speak with Dr. Judithanne McLauchlan, a USF professor of political science, about her classes, running for local office and the 2020 election cycle.

Crow's Cast podcast 

 

 

Campaign Internship and Job Fair

Thanks so much to Tom Gay and Sabrina Shively of the USF St. Petersburg campus Center for Civic Engagement for helping with the logistics of the Campaign Internship and Volunteer Fair -- and thanks to the 17 candidates who participated in our live, virtual event -- and the 19 campaigns who have participated in our flipgrid site!

Students got to hear from incumbents and challengers, Republican and Democratic, who are running in targeted races up and down the ballot -- all of whom stressed the importance of getting engaged in this election cycle and all of whom had virtual (and some in person) volunteer opportunities during this pandemic.

Students learned more about the candidates and why they decided to run for office, more about their policy platforms, and more about field organizing during the pandemic. We were recording this session in Teams - and will share when we can.

In the meantime -- please check out the candidate videos here:

https://flipgrid.com/15f9489e

I hope our students left the Fair with a greater appreciation for the importance of state and local government.

For example, our Pinellas County School Board is responsible for more than 104,000 students (at 140 schools and centers) and a budget of $1.6 Billion. Perhaps now, more than ever, voters are aware of the significance of the decisions that are made at the local level.  The School Board races are countywide -- so here in Pinellas that's about a million people, close to 700K voters! -- bigger than a Congressional District.

The Pinellas County Budget is more than $2.4 Billion.  Students also had the opportunity to meet candidates for the Commission and learn more about their ideas regarding disaster preparedness, public safety, support for small businesses.

Our state legislators are working on a Florida budget of more than $92 Billion -- with impact on education, health care, public safety, transportation, the environment, infrastructure, and more.  Again, students were able to hear from both incumbents and challengers -- in the majority and from those in the minority.

Now -- our students are considering all of their internship placement opportunities.  Applications are due on Thursday.  Stay tuned!