Go vote

A few notes on my last day of volunteering in a Congressional campaign:

* Calling undecided voters to remind them to vote on Election Day doesn't result in much feedback, other than getting answering machines to leave messages on.

* A senior center in Pleasanton didn't adequately mark that it was a polling place, so a few people from that neighborhood called our candidate's campaign headquarters to see if we could help. Myself and another volunteer drove out there with a new sign "Vote Here" that I taped to a bench outside. The only other visible sign was s 2-foot high American flag on the sidewalk that was blocked by a car, and a flag no bigger than your hand taped to a post outside the main door. Get signage, folks!

* A rumor (?) that text messages were being sent to some cell phones telling Obama supporters to vote Wednesday.

* It was fun listening to a campaign lawyer chew out election officials over the phone for not having provisional ballots available at some polling places.

* I asked the two communications people from Jerry McNerney's campaign to call me when they get time after today so we can talk about me getting a job for some member of Congress as a writer, spokesman, etc. We'll see what develops. I think I proved I can do what they needed, such as communicate.

Oh, and if you haven't done so already today, get out and vote.

McNerney for Congress

As the campaigns end, so does my volunteer work for Congressman Jerry McNerney, above, who is running for re-election to the House on Tuesday. I'll be at his Dublin headquarters on Tuesday morning, answering phones and doing whatever is needed on Election Day. McNerney supports green power, which I support, so I hope he wins.

The volunteering was interesting, and I spent most of the time doing what I wanted to do -- write. I was glad to help and I learned a lot about how campaigns run. I'm still waiting for lunch/meetings with McNerney's communications director so I can either learn how to get into such a job, or work in his office or somewhere else as a staff member and help the public with their problems.

After Tuesday, I plan to continue volunteering while looking for fulltime work, and plan to volunteer at The Public Press and other media Internet startups. It should keep me off the streets.

Coming Monday: My endorsement for president and what the next president should do to fix the economy and create new jobs.

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign

A former co-worker this week kindly wrote in an e-mail to me that from reading this blog, it looks like I may "make my fate" through the volunteer work I'm doing. As you may recall, I'm volunteering my writing and associated journalism skills to Jerry McNerney's re-election campaign for Congress. It has only been a few weeks, but I've been busy writing, and this week I did research on campaign sign restrictions in the various cities and counties in McNerney's 11th Congressional District. I'll detail the rundown, in case anyone's interested, on lawn sign regulations in a minute.

One thing I hope to show during this volunteer stint is how my journalism skills can transfer. They include not just writing and editing, but researching, analytical skills, taking complex issues and making them easy to understand, handling multiple projects on deadline, and other skills journalists have. I still believe that they're valued skills in this economy and that someone will pay me for them.

As for the lawn signs, I created a spreadsheet of maximum sign size, where they can go, where to call to complain about an illegal campaign sign, etc. While jurisdictions vary on size and how long they can stay up, they all include the basic common sense of not putting signs on public property or where they can block a driver's view. Other than that, some cities are picky about size and some allow any size sign to go up. It's a bit of an insight into how cities are run, whether they're full or red tape and limits, or free-wheeling and open.

Volunteering to find a job

One piece of advice I got early on in my job hunt, meaning two months ago, was to volunteer at something I enjoy doing. "Why?" I thought. I'm spending every waking hour looking for a job, networking and crafting a resume, how would I have time to volunteer? The idea is that it could lead to a job somewhere down the road, along with keeping myself occupied and interested in something other than staying off unemployment.

I was going to volunteer as an usher at A's games, but that might not lead to much. So last week I went to the Democratic office in downtown Walnut Creek and offered my writing/editing services. While they were glad to have me, they didn't have any immediate opportunities, so they referred me to a few local Democrats running for office. It now looks like I might soon be volunteering in Jerry McNerney's office, doing some type of writing. It's not a paid position, so that's OK, but helping a Congressman get re-elected sounds like fun. And a little something to add to my resume and talk to potential employers about. Next week I expect to meet with a McNerney campaign person to see if this comes to fruition. I'll update the blog when and if things move forward.