More than 100 people gathered in West Eugene’s Irwin Park on Saturday to canvass on behalf of state Democratic incumbent Senator Vicki Walker and House of Representatives hopeful Chris Edwards. The event was organized by the Bus Project, a political action committee (PAC) driven to make Oregon a national symbol of progressive governance.
The event, called “Eugene Edu-macation,” drew volunteers from across the state, including a Bus Project founder, Jefferson Smith and the project’s Lane County Director Adam Petkun, former president of ASUO.
Petkun and Smith spoke to a youthful crowd about the importance of volunteerism and the impact the Bus Project had on the past two elections.
Smith, also a University alumnus, labeled Walker’s campaign contest as 2006’s “number one State Senate race.”
Both Walker and Edwards said they were pleased to have the Bus Project’s support in their door-knocking campaigns.
“We could never get this many people out on doorsteps on a Saturday,” Andi Lipstein, Edwards’ campaign manager said.
Not only were these volunteers delivering the campaigns’ slogans effectively, but “they leave people with a good feeling,”
Walker said.
She attributed the feeling to the sight of young people engaged in a cause bigger than themselves – local politics – and the mix of old and new generations working together. Also, they can be depended upon to bring a large number of volunteers, she said.
Walker’s campaign was given Bus Project resources because it is expected to be a close race against two-time mayor of Eugene and advertised centrist Jim Torrey for District 7’s Senate seat.
And that is precisely why the Bus Project came to Irwin Park, its leaders say.
The races it chooses to support are determined by its board in Portland, based on the most cost-effective usage of its resources and traveling volunteers, Smith said. On Saturday, Smith said that the PAC wants to “help candidates that do the right thing know that there is power there.”
First-time candidate Edwards also has energetically embraced the Bus Project. When asked if the Edwards campaign was pleased to have the Bus Project’s support, Lipstein said “definitely, no question.”
Edwards is challenging incumbent Republican Debi Farr in Salem’s District 14. The district, composed of the eastern half of Walker’s district, has not been won by a Democrat since Ted
Kulongoski in 1974 as a then-resident of Junction City, Petkun said.
Bus Project employees and the candidates attempted to make it clear just how close these Senate races will be.
Petkun described both Walker and Edwards as “underdogs.”
After a few hours of door-knocking and handing out flyers with their clipboards and neighborhood walking maps under arm, the volunteers ended their day with a barbecue at the park. All seem pleased with their efforts, awaiting awards for the volunteer who found the most voters wanting a lawn sign and those who found the most fervid of pro-Walker or pro-Edwards residents.