Students for a New American Politics

SNAP Endorses Ilya Sheyman for Congress

admin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:43:04 +0000

Today, we’re proud to announce our endorsement of Ilya Sheyman in the race to represent Illinois 10th congressional district. Ilya has been spending months now running exactly the kind of campaign we like to get behind – a true people-powered grassroots effort to elect a bold progressive voice to Congress. This is a seat that Democrats can flip from red to blue this cycle, and when they do, we want to make sure that the 10th district has a representative that will always side with the interests of working people.

Ilya has a tremendous story – he came to this country as a Jewish refugee of the Soviet Union, was educated in our public school, and became a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers at his first job. He since was a driving force behind progressive political organizations like MoveOn.org and Democracy for America, and then returned home to help organize and improve the community that enabled him to achieve so much – and he’s done this all at the age of 25.

Ilya’s experience with online and grassroots will make him a uniquely talented leader in the House, where he’ll be able to mobilize the national progressive community to support bills to invest in jobs, enact new Wall Street reforms, and offer Medicare to all Americans. Ilya’s the right candidate, and this is the right time for the 10th district to elect a real leader to Congress.

Meet Amalia Skilton

admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:21:10 +0000

Amalia Skilton was one of our program’s youngest fellows when she was sent to work for Roxanne Conlin’s Iowa Senate campaign in 2010. With no prior electoral campaign background, the opportunity to work in the state best known for field campaigns turned her into a seasoned field operative, skills she has since put to use on campaigns in Arizona and Connecticut. Her fellowship wasn’t the end of her SNAP experience either – Amalia currently serves as SNAP’s Finance Director, helping to expand the fellowship program so that even more students can have the experience that got her started. Here’s what she had to say while on the campaign in Iowa in 2010:

According to conventional wisdom, there’s no place like Iowa to get field experience. And that conventional wisdom has definitely proven right so far – Elaine and I are gaining some amazing experience here, and shouldering real responsibility. The two of us are heading up the Conlin campaign’s field operation in the Des Moines metro area, as well playing a part in setting up field offices in other locations around the state.

I went directly from SNAP training to Des Moines at the beginning of this month, and was on the ground for most of the GOTV operation for the primary. Since our primary was on June 8, “Pretty Good Tuesday,” most of Roxanne’s staff (including me) spent Monday and Tuesday of that week making turnout calls. Over those two days, I spent almost 20 hours on call time – making well over 600 dials. Fortunately, I managed not to lose my voice, and was still able to cheer for Roxanne at the victory party: we won with 78 percent of the vote, and a 66-point margin!

After the primary, we had a few lower-key days moving our office from the pre-primary location in downtown Des Moines to the Iowa Democratic Party (IDP)’s coordinated campaign. These days included my first weekend in Iowa, which started with the IDP’s annual Hall of Fame dinner Friday, continued with the annual state party convention on Saturday, and finished with a bang at the Capital City Pride parade on Sunday afternoon. All three were great events, but “Hall of Fame” was especially memorable. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) was keynote speaker at this dinner, which honored his wife Ruth and longtime staffer Dianne Liepa.

Sen. Harkin spoke at length about how Ruth and Dianne – and Roxanne – had begun their careers at a time when women were not welcome in the political world. Being present as they were honored that evening gave me a better sense of how individual women had lived the gains of the women’s movement over the last fifty years, but also reminded me of the challenges which women in public service still face. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who gave the keynote address at Saturday’s state party convention, made me think more about this contrast. Since Sen. Klobuchar is the first elected female senator from Minnesota, her endorsement of Roxanne’s candidacy and remarks on her achievements in private and public life had a special significance. The senator also found time to greet staff from Iowa’s statewide Democratic campaigns before the keynote; I was excited and honored both to meet this remarkable woman and to hear her address from the floor.

The Conlin staff finished moving into our new space at the IDP’s headquarters this Monday, also the day when Elaine (who had just finished her final exams at school) arrived in Iowa. We hit the ground running on Tuesday, and have been working smooth and steady since then. As last week, this weekend promises to provide a change from the ordinary Sunday-Thursday rhythm of recruiting, training and managing volunteers. Saturday morning will see us marching with Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-IA-3) in a parade just north of Des Moines, and we’ll get a well-earned break Sunday morning. But for me, Sunday may not be a break from organizing – last weekend, I ran into one Conlin volunteer and recruited another at Des Moines Friends House!

Meet Cody Hooks

admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:59:23 +0000

Cody was one of our 2010 fellows who worked on Secretary of State Elaine Marshall’s campaign for the Senate in North Carolina. While Elaine’s general election campaign came up short, the experience Cody gained in the primary helped him make the leap from a student concerned about the environment to a serious campus activist, as he shared with us in an update following his return to school.

Since getting back to campus this fall, I’ve been involved in all manner of activism on campus. I’m a co-president of the Yale Student Environmental Coalition, and have done a lot of work to get more community interaction around issues of environmental, economic, social, and food justice. As a board member of Fierce Advocates, Yale’s only queer group dedicated to political activism and community service, I’ve been involved in mentoring New Haven Gay-Straight Alliances, as well as hosting a Pride Prom specifically for queer youth and their allies. When there has been action, I’ve marched and picketed with workers fighting for backpay, as well as graduate students/employees fighting for recognition of their union and more supportive policies for their academic work. My run with SNAP PAC may be over, but my activism never is.

Meet Claire Kim

admin — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 01:00:44 +0000

Claire Kim served as a SNAP Organizing Fellow on Ann McLane Kuster’s grassroots-powered campaign for New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District in 2010. Claire was an important member of the team that allowed a lifelong Democratic activist to beat out a Washington-backed conservative Democrat in the primary and came within 2% of upsetting former Congressman Charlie Bass despite Republicans having a banner year. During her time in the field, Claire has this update to share with SNAP:

Since joining Annie’s campaign, I have experienced the best kind of stress. Yes, this is somewhat of an oxymoron, but in any case, it is a true statement. There exists a rather unique, infinitely motivating and energizing source of stress that powers the ten of us field staffers on the campaign – for me, it is the fuel that wakes me up in the morning and makes me think over and over again during the day that I need to be utilizing every single second of every day to help Annie get elected. It causes me to feel a jittery sensation in my stomach at all times, a constant reminder that for once in my life, I am so rooted in a bigger reality than I could ever imagine. I am an organizer on a campaign that is relying on its field strategy to win an extraordinarily tight race in which field truly can make a difference.

It is the best feeling I have ever felt … to feel a sense of purpose in my daily activities, to feel like I have a significant role in the campaign, and above all, to truly understand and believe that every volunteer I am able to connect with can make a difference by reaching out to the individual voters who will carry our campaign past the primary.

Regardless of my frequent heart palpitations and moments of uncertainty and fear, these are a few of the many things that keep me going. The camaraderie between the field staff. The numeric goals I know I have to hit. The occasional (and always surprising) welcoming and engaging voter on the other end of a persuasion call. But most of all, it is the vision that we all share on this campaign: that electing this extremely competent, passionate, and relatable woman is a step to spurring tangible change in Washington.

This vision holds our campaign team together. It inspires us to work together, day in day out, despite our own frustrations and individual roles – it is the best kind of teamwork I have ever witnessed. Forget the cheesiness of using sports metaphors to define the dynamics of political work; I can confirm that the clichéd parallel exists for a reason.

Meet Elaine Cartas

admin — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 07:03:31 +0000

Elaine Cartas is a member of the 2010 SNAP Fellowship class, having worked on Roxanne Conlin’s Iowa Senate campaign against incumbent Chuck Grassley. Elaine is a first-generation college graduate, having received her degree from University of California at Irvine shortly before leaving to head out for Iowa. She loved her experience working for Ms. Conlin so much that she stayed on staff after her fellowship ended, working as a full-time organizer for the Conlin campaign through election day in November. Since the 2010 election ended, Elaine has worked on a variety of campaigns in California at both the local and congressional level, raising money and coordinating volunteers for another wave of progressive leaders.

During the end of the summer on the Conlin campaign, Elaine wrote to us about her experiences in the office.

Ten weeks. It doesn’t even feel like ten weeks. It feels like I’ve been a field organizer my whole life. Every morning, I wake up excited – thrilled to see our volunteers. It is the volunteers that make my 11 hour day go by quickly. Each one is filled with enthusiasm, a quirky personality, and great stories about why they support Roxanne Conlin. I’ve been able to start developing wonderful relationships with each of them. Then there’s the love and hate relationship I have with the VAN. I can assure you, it wasn’t love at first sight – but I am starting to fall in love with the benefits of the VAN.

Within ten weeks, we’ve been able to reach 300 volunteers and each week our volunteers make thousands of calls. There’s still more to accomplish. Thus, I’ve decided to stay till November fighting for Roxanne Conlin, and more importantly for all Progressives.

Ilya Sheyman (IL-10)

admin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 05:17:31 +0000

We are proud to support Ilya Sheyman in the race to represent Illinois 10th congressional district. Ilya has been spending months now running exactly the kind of campaign we like to get behind – a true people-powered grassroots effort to elect a bold progressive voice to Congress. This is a seat that Democrats can flip from red to blue this cycle, and when they do, we want to make sure that the 10th district has a representative that will always side with the interests of working people.

Ilya has a tremendous story – he came to this country as a Jewish refugee of the Soviet Union, was educated in our public schools, and became a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers at his first job. He since was a driving force behind progressive political organizations like MoveOn.org and Democracy for America, and then returned home to help organize and improve the community that enabled him to achieve so much – and he has done this all at the age of 25.

Chris Murphy (CT-Sen)

admin — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 02:50:07 +0000

Chris Murphy has been a bold progressive voice on foreign policy since he was first elected to Congress with SNAP’s help in 2006. After ousting a 24-year incumbent, Chris has been a vocal member of the House Foreign Affairs committee, calling for an end to the war in Afghanistan and vigorously opposing FISA. But foreign policy isn’t the only area where Murphy has shined, as he’s been a progressive leader on labor issues and the environment as well.

We believe that Chris will make an incredible Senator and will be one of the leading liberal voices in a chamber that is desperately lacking progressive energy. His likely opponent, Linda McMahon, is just another corporate-controlled regressive Republican who favors more tax breaks for the rich and opposes important policy solutions like cap-and-trade and card check.

In addition, Chris knows the value of grassroots campaigning, and has been a long-time support of SNAP’s grassroots mission. Here’s what he had to say about us at an event in 2011:

We know Chris will be a leader in the Senate – that is why we backed him right out of the gate. But if you haven’t had an opportunity already, please make a gift to his campaign.

Eric Griego (NM-01)

admin — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 07:17:05 +0000

SNAP is proud to support Eric Griego in his campaign to represent New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District. As a state senator, Eric has been a tireless advocate for the citizens of New Mexico, working hard to improve wages and create green jobs. Eric is running for Congress because the American Dream is disappearing in front of our eyes, and he is determined to keep fighting until we get it back.

Eric grew up in a middle class family, living in the same neighborhood where he resides today, where he learned that with a strong public education system, and some hard work, anything is possible. He’s been a progressive champion in every challenge he’s taken on in life – whether it was in the State Senate, the Albuquerque City Council, or the New Mexico Economic Development Commission. Every step of the way he’s been promoting solutions that create more opportunity for all Americans.

When Eric heard about our endorsement, here’s what he had to say:

“As a father and former educator, I am deeply concerned about the Tea Party’s push to gut education and job programs that hurt students and young people who represent the future of our country. SNAP PAC’s endorsement of my candidacy recognizes my strong record and commitment to promote policies that grow our economy to create jobs, make college more affordable, and invest in the future of our country.”

We know that Eric is going to be a great leader in Washington – that is why we made him one of our first endorsement this cycle. Please join us in supporting Eric, and if you have not already, make a contribution to his campaign.