During Orientation Week, I was told along with my fellow cohort members that we would be completing a Mock Campaign Project. Initially, I thought it was going to be hard at first because there was so much to do. However, as time went by, I got to understand more about the project, roles, and tasks to complete. In fact, I will break it down for you, the readers, to better understand as well.
The objective of this project is to educate my cohort and I on how to successfully run a campaign, especially for those who are wanting to run for office one day. In my case, I think the project would be super helpful and educational since I want to run for office one day as a Congresswoman. On the other hand, the brief overview of this project includes “delivering a campaign speech, creating a fundraising plan, outreaching to voters, conducting policy research, etc” (Project Overview Handbook).
At the same time, there are six campaign roles - Candidate, Campaign Manager, Finance Director, Policy Director, Field Director, and Communication Director. The Candidate writes and delivers the campaign speech. The Campaign Manager keeps everyone in check and helps out with providing support in fundraising, advertising, etc. The Finance Director creates the budget for the campaign. The Policy Director researches what policies and issues are important in the district. The Field Director researches the district and tries to find out the best ways on how to get the vote out. Lastly, the Communication Director creates a strong narrative and message to persuade voters to pick the candidate.
Given all of this, I specifically chose the Finance Director role along with my colleague, Pisith Keo, because I wanted to try something new. I wanted to do something out of my comfort zone, which was anything related to math, and the Finance Director was perfect for that. After taking on this role, I was able to research and learn how past candidates did their campaigns. The process itself was time consuming but worth it since I am picking up new skills.
After working hard all day, Pisith wanted to end on this note, “working as a co-director in finance along with PaNhia, I saw our works becoming even more productive and creative as we engage in transparent conversations in sharing ideas and thoughts between one another. CAUSE has brought the cohort closer together, making communication becoming much easier and more prolific.” And I completely agree with him!
Of course, we wanted to check in with the other teams too. One of the teams that I talked to was the Policy Director, which includes my colleague, Arali Weeranarayana Seneviratne. She commented, “we spent a lot of this week focusing on the big picture, trying to figure out the general issue areas we want to make the focal point of our campaign. It was so great to hear from the speakers like Mayor Maloney and John Bwarie to hear the insight and observations they’ve gathered from their lived experiences working within the district. I had been focusing on the importance of affordable housing for AD-49 and I was really glad to hear those concerns echoed by people who actually live in the district.”
Overall, the Mock Campaign Project is going well and I cannot wait to see the end results. Additionally, I am super excited to see my cohort learn and have fun with their roles. Looking forward to seeing what is next! Until next time.