Help me turn my backyard blue.

Mark and I left Rochester at around 11:30 a.m. yesterday, and hopped on the New York State Thruway to head out to Dan Maffei campaign headquarters in North Syracuse. On our way in, we passed several dozen Niagra Mohawk trucks heading out to the Buffalo area to try and restore power to residents after the snowstorm this week. I still haven't seen any snow myself during my time up here, but I imagine that will change when we head out west to the NY-26 today.

Maffei campaign headquarters are located at 305 South Main Street in North Syracuse. For those not from the area, South Main Street also means Route 11 in North Syracuse. Mark and I parked, and walked right inside asking how we could help. A staffer named Tim asked us where we were from, and when we told him Liverpool he gave us a choice of four or five canvassing packets in that area. We chose to canvass in the village of Liverpool itself, which is more of a small town than a suburb, because that way we could cover more area quickly. And oh yeah, because it is beautiful in the village this time of year.
It was quite a thrill knocking on doors in my old neighborhood with my brother who I don't get to see very often. The walking lists also have me some insight into the voter registration in the neighborhood. Even though I was not politically active growing up, almost every name that I recognized was a Democrat. Strange--maybe that does go to show that people are voting based on lifestyle these days.

By far the most common signs we saw were for Spitzer. A close second were "save Liverpool Elementary" signs and anti-Wal-Mart signs. The anti-WalMart campaign might be changing the area as well, since I canvassed someone registered in the conservative party who was 100% behind Maffei. Even though Mark and I were skipping most people registered in the conservative party or the Republican party, Mark and I knocked on his door because of his anti-WalMart sign. There were definitely more Maffei signs than Walsh signs. Maffei also had a high name recognition, which is a good sign.

After a couple of hours, Mark and I were getting a little cold (translation: we wanted to see the end of the Bills game). So, we stopped by a good local establishment, The Retreat, and had a pint of Syracuse IPA. Unfortunately, the Bills incomprehensibly lost to the Detroit Lions. Undaunted, we went back outside and knocked on some more doors.

One point I want to make about our canvassing for Dan Maffei yesterday is that we just showed up--no calling ahead, no signing up on the website. Despite this, we were still welcomed with open arms, and immediately put to work. Whoever you are, you can show up and do the same. Campaigns are not going to turn you away if you come in offering to help. Considering the amount of territory most campaigns need to cover, they desperately need volunteers like Mark and I: locals who were willing to help. Most Democratic campaigns are understaffed because they are underfunded, or because most money is being saved for TV ads. In this case, the TV ads were why Dan Maffei had a high name recognition, but there was still a huge amount of area that needed to be canvassed. Where you are, you can fill that need yourself. Find a campaign near you, and start knocking on doors. If we win big this year, you are going to want to say that you were a party of it. Heck, if we don't win big this year, you are at least going to want ot say that you tried.

Next stop on the tour: NY-26.