---------Original Message--------
From Jyoti Weaver <jyotirae@gmail.com>
Hi Glenn,
I guess that I didn't get to respond to your email before you left. Too bad that we didn't get to find each other, but without even name tags to use as references, it was literally impossible to find people that we didn't already know.
Anyway, I had some very good conversations today with group leaders from Central Indiana and with the new state director for the campaign. I have one question: Who are you talking to with the campaign to get your OAN-IN listserv going/approved? The director would like to know as we continue to try to streamline the communication process here in Indiana.
Let's keep our communication going!
Thanks.
Jyoti Weaver
P.S. I hope that you had as much fun at the convention as I did. It was a really GREAT time!
-------Reply----------
Hi, Jyoti. Thanks for touching base. I truly regret that we were unable to meet personally. There were several people that I did not manage to contact that I would have liked to, but many that I did. I take it that you did not receive my email telling everyone that I would be wearing a white T-shirt with "Obama '08 - The Drive" printed in bright blue? Oh, well. While I did enjoy the event tremendously, it was also quite a bit of work. I had the pleasure of meeting many new and interesting individuals within the Democratic Party.
For the time being, rest assured that OAN-IN has taken a great deal of careful planning just to get us to this point. I will cover this topic in another post. Just for your information, we expect to be launching some Counties in NW Indiana this week. This area has been very pro-active in recognizing and supporting this network. For everyone's information, I have already made inquiries regarding setting up a meeting between OAN-IN and the newly appointed Obama State Campaign Coordinator before proceeding any further with the impending launch.
Frankly, Jyoti, I did not attend the Convention "to lobby" for OAN-IN. Having worked the IN primary, I have personally been very concerned about strengthening the Obama support down here in Southern Indiana. The area is known as "Kentuckiana." It is a hybrid blend of Indiana and Kentucky values. We all know, only too well, what happened to the Obama campaign in KY. This concern was the compelling motive that lead me to volunteer to work in the Obama State HQ in Kentucky during the KY primary. In fact, it was the campaign staff in Louisville who affectionately gave me the nickname, G, for 'go-to-guy."
We are happy to report we were able to communicate directly with Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Jill Long-Thompson and Democratic Lieutenant Governor Candidate Dennie Oxley our assessment that the Jill Long-Thompson campaign will be vital to the success of the Obama Drive in Kentuckiana and in the rural areas of Indiana. As it turned out, we were preaching to the choir. We did, however, obtain a public commitment from Jill Long-Thompson to launch a very strong campaign effort specifically targeting Southern and rural Indiana. Jill Long-Thompson graciously explained in some detail the campaign structure that she has in place to ensure the continuous and active collaboration between the Obama campaign and her own campaign. We were deeply impressed with both Jill Long-Thompson and Dennie Oxley.
As impressive as Senator Obama is as a Presidential Candidate, Jill is as a Gubernatorial Candidate. She radiates warmth, integrity and ability simply through the act of exchanging eye contact. Dennie Oxley will be a very effective deputy. He is well qualified to win bi-partisan support for Jill's agenda in the State Legislature. This is critical to the Obama supporters in Kentuckiana as we are convinced that an Obama/Thompson campaign strategy will be vital to securing a Obama/Democratic Party majority in the Southern and rural areas of this State.
We look forward to fully supporting this extraordinary combined campaign effort.
Yes, Jyoti, I fully agree that we all need to communicate far more actively with each other about this network. The NW region has been in regular phone contact with us for several weeks now. - G
--
No comments:
Post a Comment