A very hot and summery June 26

There are times when I just have to get away from the monitor and keyboard. This morning was one of them. The weeds among the onions in my garden only added to my frustration and workload so I donned shorts and pulled them up with a sigh of relaxaton and a commitment to stay centered and focused.

The passing of more than a week since my last blog entry gives emphasis to how busy this whirlwind called campaigning can be, especially in light of the fact that there isn't yet any experienced staff with lots of free time to help me on my way to getting out the vote.

Of course the days spent at the Victory Fund training (Thursday to Sunday) were part of the hold-up in posting. I had no Internet connection and little time to write in any case. It was packed full of information and worth every minute of my time.

So what did I learn? Get a staff so I can do the job a candidate needs to do: knock on doors to meet registered voters in my district and raise money. How many voters? There are 14,500 registered voters in the district and I'll need half of those voting in the primary, plus one, in order to win, if indeed it's a two-way race. How much money? Well $250,000 would be nice.

Visit my website to volunteer or contribute.

That brought me to Monday when my first job was to recruit more volunteers and to hire a campaign manager. I've been able to interview several in the past few days but none have yet asked for the job, nor have I had enough information to offer it to any of them. Let's just call it a work in progress.

I also met with Richard K. Means, my election lawyer, on Monday. He's a sharp-witted expert and will obviously be a strong ally.

On Tuesday I caught up on some of the work that had been piled on my desk while I was away. Wednesday was my day to work in the union office (I do that once a week) and afterwards I interviewed an experienced campaign manager. I'm waiting to hear back from him now to schedule a second interview.

Thursday morning I earned some money as a genealogist. I do, after all, have to get some income to survive the summer financially. Then I rushed home and dressed in my best campaign clothes to have my official campaign picture taken.

That brings me to the garden this morning and more reaching out to voters to boost my campaign into higher gear. Tonight will be a bit warm for canvassing but I'll still be out there knocking on doors. Wish me luck.