MY CAMPAIGNING EXPERIENCE
years old! I also went to a fundraising event for State Representative Christina Hale and met 10 other deaf people there as well. Along with nine other deaf people, we canvassed more than 1,000 homes! The key was to work closely with the campaign manager. When I attended Organization Days (which happened two weeks after Election Day) – I met deaf community members, Michael Reis, a deaf native Hoosier Historian, and Sharon Wesley Dunn. There was no interpreter, but we were able to rely on Twitter and follow a journalist who was reporting live from the statehouse. Later, in 2014, I decided to become more involved with Rep. Hale’s campaign. This was a huge accomplishment for me because I worked hard to get people to donate to Rep. Hale’s campaign and encouraged deaf people to register to vote. This was the first time a deaf constituent hosted a private fundraiser at someone’s home. Small, but important networking events like that helped Rep. Hale win the election. Then, in 2016, Rep. Hale decided to run for Lt. Governor. At Rep. Hale’s Election night party, there were interpreters and more than 20 people who attended. Even though she lost, it was still a memorable event for me because we were able to talk with other attendees about accessibility.
With only a two-day notice, I joined Governor Candidate John Gregg’s bus tour for one day and visited six cities with Michael Reis. Indiana Association of the Deaf covered the interpreting costs. We managed to get four deaf people in two different cities to meet us. This was definitely a rich experience!
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I visited U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly’s office during an open house. I was asked a lot of questions about my hobbies, what personal stories I have, and so on. Even though it lasted an hour, it was definitely worth my time.
In 2018, I got involved with Congressional District 5 Dee Thornton’s campaign. I learned it is important to work with other deaf community members to be sure that we are on same page and learn new things together. There was an interpreted Q&A session at a local coffee shop for the deaf community and we invited Candidate Dee Thornton. We also joined the interpreted Debate between Congressional District 5 Susan Brooks and Candidate Dee Thornton – this event was hosted by the League of Women Voters. To show how invested we were, we held a fundraiser at the deaf club – we used the opportunity to educate other deaf community members why it is important to vote and how to support a candidate. Fundraising is important because it shows the candidate that you are committed to vote for them. Look at it this way, their mailings and yard signs cost a lot of money. By having a yard sale, both you and the candidate are more visible.
