A month of walking in one afternoon

T.A. Barnhart

On a good evening of walking, your typical Oregon House or Senate candidate may be able to visit 15 to 30 houses. With luck, half those doors will be answered by a voter. Some visits may be brief: a quick introduction, a few words about policy stands, maybe a dismissive “sorry, not tonight.” Other voters may want to talk at length, take advantage of what might be their only chance to grill the candidate first hand. For a variety of reasons, the candidate may get to talk to 10 to 20 people in an evening.

On Sunday afternoon, the Bus Project talked to 853 people. Do the math: that’s more than a month’s worth of door-knocking by a candidate, a huge boost for any campaign. On Sunday, out in Gresham, the boost was for Nick Kahl and Greg Matthews. Both candidates are that much closer to gaining a seat in the House of Representatives in November.

Some other numbers:

• 3,273 total doors knocked — and if no one was home, lit was dropped, also a good thing
• 87 lawn signs: 28 for Kahl, 59 for Matthews
• 61 emails: a new Bus record!

And how do you get to 3,273 doors in less than 3 hours for two great candidates? You bring 120 people on two busses (and a few cars) to Davis Park, where Steve Novick tells them how special (and adorable) they are and how their efforts that day will pay dividends down the road. You provide all they need, from food and water and sunscreen to a chance to talk to the candidate beforehand (or maybe State Sen Laurie Monnes Anderson). And then you send them out to do what an inspired citizen does best: talk to other citizens.

The Bus Project, after all, is Oregon’s premier grassroots activist organization. Their only mission is to get citizens active, to get citizens involved in the democratic process. When a high-caliber candidate like Greg Matthews — Army paratrooper, former firefighter, cop and small business owner — shakes his head in awe of the energy and support of people who barely know him and yet will give up an entire Sunday just for him and Nick Kahl — well, you know you are dealing with something special. That’s the Bus Project.

If you want to be part of something special, you have more chances this summer. We’re teaming up with the Oregon League of Conservation Voter in Bend August 16 & 17 for Julie Stiegler, candidate for HD 54. (It's not just a Bus trip: it's mini Bus vacation.) Then on Sunday, August 24, it’s down to Clackamas County for Brent Barton (I’ll be on my way to Denver, so I’ll be safe from renegade frisbees). And we’re coming back to East County on September 6th. A lot of great times ahead, and I hope my admittedly rough video gives you a bit of an idea of what might be in store.

Drop a line to the Bus and tell Henry you want to get on the Bus. Make democracy happen.

And if you're out in the Gresham area, contact Greg Matthews & Nick Kahl; help get them into the Legislature to continue the work of making Oregon work for all of us.

By T.A. Barnhart Aug. 06, 2008