Strategies in race all the same: get your votes to the polls

By George P. Hassett

They may differ in their backgrounds and beliefs, but the four candidates in the 2nd Middlesex state Senate race — State Rep. Patricia D. Jehlen, D-Somerville, Governor’s Councilor Michael J. Callahan, D-Medford, State Rep. Paul C. Casey, D-Winchester, and Joseph K. Mackey — are employing the same simple strategy for today’s election: get your people to the polls any way you can.

"We are knocking on doors, making phone calls anything we can do to make sure our supporters get out and vote," said Callahan.

Each campaign said they have over 250 volunteers out on the streets of the district, which includes all of Somerville, Medford, and Winchester and two precincts in Woburn.

Those volunteers are performing tasks as diverse as simply holding the candidates sign to driving a truck with Callahan campaign posters attached throughout the district — he has 3 trucks in the streets.

But the most effective tactic to reach possible supporters is contact by telephone, said Sean J. Fitzgerald, Chief of Staff for Charles E. Shannon, the state Senator who held the vacant seat for 14 years before his death in February.

"Phone calls are best because it calls for the least amount of labor compared to other methods, such as door knocking. In the time it takes to walk down a block in Somerville or Medford or Winchester knocking on doors, dozens of phone calls can be made," he said.

Callahan said he had more than 15 drivers working today, while Georgia Hollister Isman, campaign manager for Jehlen, said her camp had four volunteers devoted exclusively to driving voters to the polls.

"If a voter needs a ride, they will definitely get one from us," she said.

Because of the unique circumstances surrounding today’s election — it is the only race on a rainy day in the last week of August — Isman said every vote is treasured.

"In a race like this, where most people are not paying attention, one on one contact with voters is the only way to win," she said.