Posted by Robyn Hamlin on 10/22/09 1:09 PM Last updated 10/17/09 05:45 AM [Newer: Message sent from a guest user] [Older: Town Hall - Thursday - 10/22]

A Local Coordinator is a volunteer who is willing to go door to door in their precinct or neighborhood regarding an issue that affects their neighborhood.  The times that people will go door to door are generally prior to an election to hand out information on candidates or issue that will be on the ballot, when there is a community or neighborhool issue that you want to raise awareness about, or just a neighborhood bar-b-que.  Local Coordinators are the most valuable people to make a change in elections.  There are 180,000 precincts in the country and if we can get 180,000 people who are willing to be Local Coordinators it will be very easy to make a difference in elections.   

For instance, if your county has 30 precincts and you have 25-50 people who agree on something that have stepped up to be Local Coordinators it is very easy to get information to people.  We all are aware of the problems with the talking box (aka television) and newspapers.  Many times they give an opinions and not facts but the people who watch or read them seem to think that they are seeing or hearing facts. 

Let's use the example of a new road.  If a county wants to put in a new road for the benefit of a company in a neighboring county  the currently elected county officials discuss it and how much it will cost.  There are usually a few articles in the local paper about it and maybe a talking head will mention it once or twice.  The request for the funding is put on the municipal ballot and people are asked to vote for or against it.  Just how much information do the voters really have about the issue?  Because this is not really a partisan issue the republican and democratic precinct leaders are probably not going to do any canvassing of their precincts to provide information to the people.  Republican and Democratic precinct leaders mainly canvass to keep or get back their party's power or dominance.  

If there were liberty minded Local Coordinators who would go door to door with information regarding the project the voters would be better informed.  Maybe provide a copy of the budget for the highway that shows where the county intends to get the funds from, information that shows the layout of the proposed road, information about who benefits the most from the road, and information about what property the county will intend to take through emininent domain for the project.  This information is needed by voters to make informed decisions and they are not going to get it from partisan parties so it us up to us, We The People.  The Local Coordinator would also remind people when the election day was and maybe even offer to provide a ride for their neighbors who don't drive.  

The Campaign For Liberty Local Coordinator program has great tools and teaching programs to help people learn about their precinct.  While not necessary they are EXTEMELY helpful as you learn how many voters you have, how many people vote in the general election verses the municipal elections, which way your neighborhood generally votes, etc.  As an active Local Coordinator your neighbors will start to look to you as a source of information after you have canvassed your area a few times.  They will recognize you and most are happy that someone has stepped up and is willing to provide them with information that they don't get from the talking box or dying newspapers.  

How many of you walked your neighborhood to hand out information regarding Ron Paul?  If you could walk your neighborhood to give out information regarding the presidential elections why can't you walk your neighborhood to give out information regarding local issues that directly affect you and your neighbors?  To restore constitutional principles to our country we must to restore order to our local governing bodies.  To make our voices heard we must stand together.  As we work on our local areas as a Local Coordinator we can and will re-awaken the spirit of our country and remind people that what made our country great was less government, not more.  Local elections are extremely important to fix the foundation of our government.

Please join the Campaign For Liberty and become a Local Coordinator in your neighborhood.   If you are a dues-paying member, Click here to complete your enrollment in the Local Coordinator program!  If you are already a Local Coordinator please take advantage of the tools available to you on your dashboard under the Local Coordinator Tools link.

Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.  You can message me here if your are logged into the Campaign For Liberty site or here if you are not a member yet.  The R3volution continues with people taking action.

Robyn Hamlin
MO CD 1
Interim MO State Co-Coordinator

Posted 10/17/09 09:58 AM CHUCKtheFED St. Louis, MO

This is a great description not only of the roll of a Local Coordinator, but also of the roll of Campaign For Liberty in general. I have forwarded into to groups I am meeting in North Side St. Louis, as these are exactly the labors that they are facing in the fight against eminent domain, and in general in their fights against collusion (Aldermanic Courtesy) and corruption in St. Louis politics.

Posted 10/22/09 4:38 PM Deanne Hunt Chelsea, MI

Thanks for the example Robyn, I have posted this on my district's page.

Posted 10/22/09 6:54 PM American Epirus Omaha, NE

I think Robyn did a great job of explaining C4L's Local Coordinator program as it is currently practiced, but I have always believed that the program is somewhat capricious in both its goals and methodology, which has been my experience with the C4L Local Coordinators in Nebraska. My biggest complaint about the C4L is what I perceive to be the campaign's inconsistency in dedication and discipline; don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say that the C4L needs a fascist-like or ultra-rigid relationship with zealotry or hierarchy, BUT the program whole-heartedly relies on dues-paying members as some kind of core of volunteerism and spirit. I would certainly concede that registration with the C4L website, a small "due-paying" requirement, and what amounts to a timid invitation to some C4L "classes" helps ensure a sense of dedication, but I believe the program carries a deeply flawed mission, at least in my current residence here in Nebraska. First off, my experience is that the few Local Coordinators with whom I am familiar, know that many of the activities that have been designed and organized here in Nebraska by the County Coordinator here and even the State Coordinator never occur enough, in my estimation, to make a significant impact and worse yet usually only occur on weekends! It's a huge hurdle for people with full-time schedules, especially if they work on weekends. Second, If a goal/mission of the C4L is to reach out to *all* people of *all* backgrounds, then it should be obvious that the function/practice of the Local Coordinator program as it currently exists clearly impedes this "reach out" goal/mission. For example, I have very little idea who the Local Coordinators in my county and district are. Although, I am aware that I can use the C4L dashboard to locate the usernames and possibly other information on these Local Coordinators, I have never been given the chance or opportunity to meet these people, socialize, nor the choice to associate on any kind of meaningful political level with any of them; perhaps this predicament is an issue isolated to the Nebraska C4L, but I have a nagging hunch it is a greater issue than anyone in the C4L has evaluated. Again, don't get me wrong, I believe the Local Coordinator program does have good intentions; unfortunately, I have no reason to believe that the program is the best option for every precinct, district, county, state and even the national level. I think C4L does need a core of dedicated volunteers, but the program is badly lacking, again, as far as Nebraska is concerned, but perhaps the nation. Local Coordinators, to me, appear to be a lot of "good intentions", but the C4L has a tremendous way to go before it offers a truly universal way to reach out to everyone at every level. My recommendation? Pay every county coordinator a small salary or stipend to organize at least two events each month; one on a weekday, one a weekend and both at different times of day. Furthermore, I understand C4L needs some kind of structure, but a volunteer should not have to be arbitrated by the organization in any way, just as arbiters of the organization should not have to volunteer in any way; we need to establish an equilibrium. If I had it my way, I would have the entire C4L structure overhauled from the national level on down, but alas, I feel I am a singular voice. If anyone out there read all this, I thank you and hope I may have enrichened your experience today.

Posted 10/22/09 7:37 PM cptteabag Logan, UT

Epirus, I see your point. The thing is, this is exactly what the spirit of the movement is. It's people getting up and MAKING things happen, not waiting around to be herded into meetups and events. I'm not saying that's the case for you necessarily. When I lived in King County in Washington, there were always meetups and people encouraging eachother to take action. Now that I live in Logan, UT, I see and hear no news at all from anyone locally. But there is amazing sense of community here, and I plan to use that once I get established in the area. Not all of us can be leaders. Not all of us are good at doing research or keeping up on local politics. Not all of us have the time, in fact most of us don't. We're putting in that extra two hours of work every day to pay the government. A lot of us are burnt out and have our own personal issues, myself included. We can always be doing better, but we can't neglect our families or get burnt out over it.

Posted 10/22/09 10:33 PM American Epirus Omaha, NE

Hey cpt, I'm glad I am not the only one having this experience here, though it is admittedly a sad state-of-affairs. Rest assured, there's no burn-out here, though; I'm just getting started. :D

Posted 10/23/09 08:46 AM jbmccord Spring Hill, TN

This is good stuff. If you dont mind, I would like to incorporate this piece in my LC training

Posted 10/23/09 11:59 AM Jeff Greenspan Phoenix, AZ

Epirus, if you look at your membership numbers after a gun-show tabling versus door to door efforts, you will find a zero or almost zero addition to dues paying and non-dues paying membership. Door to door efforts yield positive increases in non-dues paying, dues-paying memberships AND new Local Coordinators. So, while your utopian vision of how it should work is nice, the numbers dont prove your theory. As Deb likes to put it, if you are unwilling to fight the soft war now with a pen and a clipboard, you will not be a reliable teammate when it comes to fighting the hard war if/when it comes.

Posted 10/23/09 12:00 PM Jeff Greenspan Phoenix, AZ

Tablings yield zero or next to zero results. You have no measure to demonstrate that your tabling had any effect. However, there are several measures that demonstrate that door to door efforts DO have positive effects.

Posted 10/24/09 6:07 PM nadams Atlanta, GA

This is a great write-up, Robyn. People have been trained to sit in front of their TV (and now their computer) and expect results. Even rallies and sign-wavings (although fun and great for networking/spreading information) have almost 0 impact on the legislative process. GET OFF YOUR DUFF AND START KNOCKING ON DOORS. That is the real secret to success.

Posted 10/25/09 09:37 AM American Epirus Omaha, NE

For the record, I did not say door-to-door strategies don't work. If about anything, however, I would characterize my original comment post as being about "access" to the Campaign For Liberty activism, or the possible lack thereof; though, I would argue door-to-door strategies are most effective with greatest numbers and in a unison manner, which I suspect would pre-suppose one or more prior meetings utilizing maximum means of access and organization. I've read some interesting "pep talk" blogs about how C4Lers define activism and using these blogs as a model for the rest of the C4L, but I'm not criticizing the C4L's message or its strategy: I would simply be disappointed if the C4L does not have ability to reach out to a majority of Americans. Though door-to-door can be a beginning, where and how does a group create and maintain structure? I am talking about simple organizational meetings to solidify these strategies and allow for some interpersonal discussion/discourse. Perhaps this is all wishful thinking on my part, though, teabag's experience in Utah makes me suspect otherwise. As for Deb, I don't know her personally and I would rather not opinionate here, but I am more than happy to create dialogue and discourse about principle and the nature of principle in this organization. It is not my intent to discourage anyone from any good cause for any reason. I believe that I exist as part of this organization to retain a realistic perspective and/or grip on a bigger picture which I believe to be vital to this organization's mission. Perhaps I'm being unrealistic, but I would also ask all of you to consider that I am thinking just as much about hope and optimism.

Posted 10/25/09 10:02 AM Robyn Hamlin Saint Louis, MO

American Epirus, you wrote: "I am talking about simple organizational meetings to solidify these strategies and allow for some interpersonal discussion/discourse." This is an important part of what a Local Coordinator helps do. Sitting around and waiting on someone else to pick up the reins and have simple organizational meetings can leave a lot of people just sitting around and waiting. If there is not a person in your area who is holding meetings then please step up and do this in your area. It looks like there are a lot of people in your county and I bet if someone would step up as a County Coordinator you would see more activity.

Posted 10/27/09 3:48 PM mo cavewoman Leasburg, MO

Good information Robin. In my experience,if you line out a organized way to attend meetings and go to County, City, senior citizens meetings etc. ,know what you are going to present to them ahead of time. Do a follow-up visit and take more information. Go to Rep and Dem groups and introduce yourself and state your adjenda that truly helps get the word out. Always bring material ask for their help and invite them personally to the forum that you have set up. Letters to candidates etc. Let each group know that the other candidate or party has agreed to come and have a table for information on the candidates. The most important thing is to be prepared to answer questions. Let them know that you are non-partisan and you are open to just getting the word out for both parties . It is my experience that a woman should not go alone always go in two's and always let someone know that you will be in the area for the day. keep in contact by phone with someone when you go door to door. Be friendly and never go inside anyone's house. Stand back from the door. be safe. The important thing is have a good time meeting people. Talk to people as you shop. Start a conversation, ask people their view. Everyone likes to be listened to.Get your point across to them,if only enough to get them thinking about what you have said. Thanks for reading... I could type all night.