Marla Kamiya (right), pictured with her friend Mini Liu (left), canvassing for Summer Lee in the PA primaries this past fall.
Written by STV Volunteer, Joanne Stanley. Transcribed by STV Volunteer, Claire Sudolsky.
Marla Kamiya says she knew when 2024 rolled around that she wanted to do something to support progressive candidates and ideas in this momentous election cycle – especially knowing how narrow some margins of victory have been lately. Two years before, she and two friends had canvassed with Seed the Vote in Reno, NV, and played a part in Catherine Cortez Masto’s winning her senate re-election bid there.
“What really helped me was the fact that we went as a group of three people,” said her friend Teri Lee, adding that it mattered to her that local progressive groups were involved and benefiting during the election and beyond. “It felt like we were contributing to their efforts as well.”
So this year Marla and Teri and other East Bay activists decided to hold a house party and reach out to their networks in the area, eventually signing up door knockers, phone bankers and donors among 26 attendees. They decided to go to Pittsburgh next, where Rep. Summer Lee did successfully fend off a primary challenge this summer.
Teri said it wasn’t always easy to get out there and speak to strangers. “I’m a very shy person,” she said. “Canvassing takes a lot out of me.” She noted that not everyone answers the door, and not everyone’s going to be persuaded. But sometimes things open up in surprising ways. She laughed while describing one of her friends’ spontaneity when an older man opened his door.
“She basically sailed in with the opening line, ‘I’m 81 years old and I’m door knocking because this is such an important election!’”
A surprisingly deep conversation unfolded after that between the two. Another resident commented they were just happy to see canvassers in their neighborhood, reaching out to local people.
“I think everyone we invited was very grateful and pleased to be invited,” Marla said. Also, working as a team made the process less stressful and more fun – even though they hadn’t worked especially close together until then. “Everybody’s fears and strengths and weaknesses kind of meshed together,” she said.
Each door knocker is asked to come up with a short statement of who they are and why they feel an urgency to act now. “There’s no single, generic message,” Teri commented. “I think you have to tailor it to who you’re speaking with, and I happened to speak to a lot of people who were really demoralized…In that context, and this does relate to what motivates me, setting the political framework is crucial.”
Potential splits in the Democratic Party after the Oct. 7 attack and Gaza invasion by Israel particularly concerned them. “There’s a certain level of paralysis, I think, that can set in. And actually a lot of us know folks, especially young folks, who are saying a pox on both their houses. I’m just gonna sit this one out,” Teri said. “Well, that is not what we need to do.”
Both women credited Seed the Vote for coming up with a revised strategy post-Oct 7 to emphasize both a short-term goal to defend members of The Squad who were being targeted as well as a longer-term approach to build progressive power.
“We can do both at the same time,” Marla said. “We can try to block the right while supporting those efforts that are building more fundamental change. Seed the Vote kind of encapsulates that…It’s saying to the progressive groups on the ground, What do you need?”
Both activists indicated their desire to stay involved with phone banking, canvassing, and perhaps emphasize fundraising more. They said they liked the friendliness and twice-daily briefings that they had already received while in the field. “With Seed the Vote, you’re not alone,” Teri concluded.
Did this leave you wanting to hear more from volunteers? Check out our Recruitment video series, produced by Seed the Vote volunteer Patricia Rios.