Jehlen's team works to remind voters election day is here and now

Jehlen's team works to remind voters election day is here and now

By Elizabeth McNamara

   For Patricia D. Jehlen’s campaign team, the crucial challenge is not getting votes for their candidate, but just getting voters to the polls.
   “Turnout – that’s our biggest problem today,” said Georgia Hollister Isman, Jehlen’s campaign manager.  She said, regardless of the final outcome of today’s election, results would be determined from a very low-turnout of voters. 

   “There’s nothing else on the ballot to draw people out [to the polls],” said Hollister Isman.  “Plus, it’s the last Tuesday in September.  People aren’t going to wake up today and say, ‘Oh, it’s Election Day; I’m going to go vote.’  They’re always thinking about the first Tuesday in November.”
    The 2nd Middlesex Senate seat was left vacant by the death of Charles E. Shannon Jr.
     It’s a vacancy  Jehlen and William A. White are both working to fill today. 
     “All elections are always big,” said Hollister Isman.  “We work hard to win them all.”
     Hollister Isman started as Jehlen’s campaign manager in May, replacing Sean Carberry . She said she is proud of the way her campaign team handled the primaries and, that efforts has prepared them for today’s special election.
    “Because what drives turnout is the strength of the campaign,” she said.  “The perception is this time we had less direct mail to prep people and so awareness about the election will go down.”
     Both Jehlen and White’s teams have had only 2 to 3 weeks between the primary elections and this final election to gather information about the opposing candidates, generate local support, create voter awareness, and strategize a game plan. 
     “Some people are going to be working the phonebooks, calling our supporters, anyone who’s got the potential to get out here and vote,” said Hollister Isman of her team plans in the final push toward what they hope will be success.  “This evening we’re going to go door-to-door as we did in the primaries.”
      Jehlen’s campaign team expects “hundreds” of helpers and supporters to help rally a last-minute effort by the end of the day, Hollister Isman said. 
     “We had more than 50 people at six o’clock this morning,” she said laughing and pointing to a small foldout table with several large, empty, and decimated Dunkin’ Donuts boxes aside scattered napkins, mixing straws and sugar packets.
    “We had hundreds of volunteers [for the primaries], too,” she said.  “That’s how you do it:   Focus with one-on-one personal attention from not only the candidate and their team, but also from great spokespeople that volunteer their time to help Pat.”
     Hollister Isman called those volunteers “wonderful and enthusiastic” people who followed Jehlen through her years leading up to and acting as a state representative.
     “They’re people who are excited to see a progressive or a democratic leadership; they’re teachers, nurses, members of AFICIO and other various organizations,” she said.
      It’s this personal attention and determination to motivate voters Hollister Isman said she hopes will give an edge to Jehlen’s efforts today.   
      “What’s going to happen tonight? Well, people are going to stop voting, then somebody’s going to tally the votes, and then a winner will be announced. I’ll jinx it if I say anymore,” she said. 

Comments

[Sean Carberry]

OK, now that the campaign is over, I can more freely comment on the sloppy journalism of the News. I left the campaign in July, not May as stated in the article. Not that mentioning me was even relevant to the article in the first place or served any purpose, especially since there's no reason for the audience to know who I am or why it matters that Georgia took over after I left.

The biggest learning experience for me in this campaign was that local press does not operate by the traditionally accepted practices of objectivity and factual accuracy (not that all media organizations do, but at least they seem to make an effort).

All I have to say is never trust a media source that will reprint a press release ver batim. I learned how to use it to our advantage during the campaign, but when the press doesn't scrutinize or fact check, everyone loses.

[no 1 cares sean]

No one really cares about you. There was no need for you to post your statements on this site. I have been closely involved in Somerville politics for the past 5 years and I have never even heard of you. Get over yourself. Actually I did hear of you once when Pat canned you (or so the rumor goes). Keeping on posting on how you go to the Kennedy School of Gov. at Harvard. No one cares so just fade away into the night.

[Sean Carberry is an IDIOT]

Hey Sean, That's pretty classy and professional -- publicly whining and crying and pointing fingers. Worst of all, you make no sense -- you criticize the news because they included your name in an article on team jehlen -- shouldn't an article on such a subject include a few people who work for her? What happened? After having too much to drink, you come home and release your pent up frustrations on a blog? Sean, you are a loser, brag about your Harvard pedigree all you want -- but your behavior and comments on this website show you to be just another classless nerd in search of a job. bye bye sean -- good luck at harvard.

[divest from Sean Carberry]

hey sean,

cambridge called -- they want their whiny, backstabbing, treachorous, mean-spirited, snobbish and vindictive persona back. I am starting the Somerville Divestment of Sean Carberry Project (SDSCP) tomorrow morning in hopes that we can rid this city of whiny, overgrown children such as Sean Carberry. cambridge needs you sean, it will be nothing short of noble for you to go there and get the hell out of this city. we won't miss you. have another drink jerk.

[Sean Carberry]

George,
Thanks for the suggestion to move, but I think I'll stick around and cost-average your lack of civility. At least I had the decency to post under my own name.

I don't think I've ever seen the editor of any other newspaper spout off the way you did in the preious two posts. I guess it validates my initial criticisms about journalistic integrity on the local level.

[James Norton]

Sean -

you get to take a little break from posting, until you've calmed down and start playing nice nice again.

John -

don't post the same comment, even slightly changed, under two articles on here again, or you'll have to sit in the corner too.

Beckman -

you're an idiot. take a voluntary break from commenting on here until you get your facts straight or i'll sit you out for the rest of the season.

Mole -

why dont we hear from you anymore? we miss you here. when i start the radio station and invite some of the people from here to join me in some no holds barred discussions, i want you in! ill disguise the voice and you can call in from somewhere non-descript. think about it. i want you in. christ, ill even take one of the liquid courage assholes - assuming of course that one of them will make contact.

speaking of that - i can't wait to report in the paper and on this weblog the name of the moron who's been calling my office and cell phone drunk and not leaving his name - not the hardest thing to trace back by the way - for now we are trying to see if he's the same ass who has been calling the advertisers in the print edition of the paper.

now that should be an interesting story when the investigation is done and the dots are all connected. by that time, ill have all the dots connected to the rest of the "plant" commenters on this weblog and who they are related to, work with, work for and who has asked them to post on here.

this is supposed to be a public forum, and for the most part it is - play nice with the others - and dont be rude and youll get to stay otherwise you'll be bounced

at least some people have the balls to put their real names on here -

chew on that a while

[Gotta Love Jaime Norton!]

Jaime Norton is beautiful. He's not afraid to tell it how it is. Gotta give him credit, he speaks the truth. The truth hurts here in Somerville. Here are a few people that hate to hear the truth.

Butchy, Stan, Tony L, John L, Herbie V, John John from Newton, The Somerville Housing Authority, ---The list goes on and on and on. When are we going to find out the truth about thease fellas!

[Democrat]

3rd try..

Why did you delete my post? All I said that if you have a public forum then you have to live with the consequences. Why not just make people register before posting? If you want to keep the little credibility you have you should not be so quick to dismiss anyone that disagrees with your views. You have now just become another wacko on this board, calling people names instead of making real comments.

[James Norton]

Democrat -

You know something, you're absolutely right. The rub is that I do live with the consequences, because no matter how you slice it up, I still attach my name to everything I post on here or comment about or op-ed about.

We could make people register, but then it wouldn't make for raw, emotional postings. I don't erase comments for the sheer fact that I can because they didn't agree with my views - in fact - I have kept every single posting and comment ever made on this weblog and I know for a fact that I have never deleted a comment or banned anyone just for disagreeing with the views of the paper or myself personally.

Now on the other hand, I have banned a few people for a number of things - spamming, multiple postings of same comments, slanderous and silly innuendo and hurtful comments and just for being a pain in the ass. Go back and read the comments on here - all of them - see how many I have left that have personally attacked me.

Then try and tell me I'm just another wacko, or that I don't make real statements. I don't waste my time with silly shit and I am far from your ordinary wacko.

And once again, at the end of the day - I attach my name to my comments, post my correct email address and invite anyone who'd like to just have a normal conversation to call me at my office or stop in. My door is open to anyone, but don't waste my friggin time with silly shit.

Chew on that.

[Fan of Jamie]

Good job Jamie! Tell him the way it is!