I arrived in downtown Erie at 9:40 in the morning. Afraid that I was getting lost and running out of time to get to work, I took a chance and followed a confident looking car brandishing a bright Obama bumper sticker in the hopes that it would lead me in the right direction. As it turned out, the very car I was following belonged to my campaign partner, Elizabeth. We were both on time to say the least!
As Elizabeth and I entered Sean Wiley’s campaign headquarters, we were immediately surprised by the amount of space that we had access to. Our boss, Scott, took us for a grand tour of the headquarters. We discovered that the building had at one point been a post office in Erie. However, now all of the offices, lobbies, and mailrooms belonged to us! The sheer size of the place excited both Elizabeth and I. (It also certainly added a thrilling element to our workspace when our boss teasingly suggested the local rumors which implied that the building was haunted!)
After being briefed on Sean’s campaign, I grew quite eager to meet our candidate. Unfortunately, we learned that we would have to wait until next week to get to know him personally. With Sean out of the office for a few days, Scott let us know that our work week would entail some of the less exciting, but equally important, work that is necessary in a campaign. What did that mean for Elizabeth and I? Mail merges, letter folding, and label making galore! Indeed, as Scott had noted, this was not the West Wing.
“This table is about to get very sticky…..”
Elizabeth and I quickly learned how much work went into getting the word out, gaining financial support, and providing voters with important information in every campaign. After I unsuccessfully folded several fundraiser invitations, we decided to switch jobs. Elizabeth’s mastery of the art of paper folding rivaled that of an origami specialist! Still, I managed to give her a run for her money when it came to sealing the envelopes. Truly, we had both mastered our respective duties. At the end of the day, we had labeled, stuffed, stamped, addressed, and sealed over 500 fundraiser invitations! However, as Elizabeth had previously mused, all of that envelope sealing made for one sticky table.
As our first work week came to a close, Elizabeth and I could undoubtedly agree on one thing; we could not wait to put down the envelopes and instead hand out the official Sean Wiley Chap Stick and nail files at future events! Ultimately, and all joking aside, we were proud to support and campaign for Sean Wiley under the endorsement of Planned Parenthood. Sean’s support for Planned Parenthood, reproductive rights, and family planning made his campaign one that I was happy to be working on. Candidates like Sean prove that women’s rights and access to safe reproductive health organizations like Planned Parenthood are essential positions that need to be a focus in all campaigns. I couldn’t wait to meet him!
-Chazie Bly, Planned Parenthood of Western PA
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