Press Room

Shuldiner mows ahead with grassroots campaign

North County News, August 3, 2006
By Rita J. King

When Democratic congressional hopeful Ben Shuldiner says “local grassroots campaign,” he isn't messing around.

His campaign headquarters on Route 6 across from the Cortlandt Town Center can accommodate his full-time staff of 12, along with an inventory of “Ben for Congress” lawn signs, magnets, bumper stickers and fliers.

Meanwhile, his grandparents' Mohegan Lake home has been turned into a dormitory, with beds in the basement and first floor for some staffers-that is, when they get a chance to sleep.

Shuldiner is one of the Democrats fighting for the chance to unseat Republican incumbent Congresswoman Sue Kelly, who has long held sway over the 19th Congressional District. Currently, Kelly is serving her sixth term.

A bevy of diverse candidates are hotly pursuing the September 12 primary victory, but Shuldiner, 29, ... believes his grassroots campaign is what sets his effort apart as he focuses on getting troops out of Iraq, improving the quality of education and providing health care.

In 2002, Shuldiner received a grant to build a high school. His innovative vision for public education became reality in the fall of 2003, when he opened the High School for Public Service in Brooklyn and became the youngest principal in state history. His dream was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Belonging to a party notorious for scatter-shot focus in recent years has its pitfalls, but Shuldiner, who graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University, believes his campaign style hearkens back to the roots of the Democratic message-getting out there among the people one hopes to serve.

From the time he opens his eyes at 4:30 am, Shuldiner's day is filled with smiles and handshakes. While staffers take their posts and a small army of volunteers recruit supporters, Shuldiner starts off at the various train stations scattered through the district, where thousands of commuters become potential voters.

On Monday morning, he explained politics to an eight-year old girl.

“I told her I want to help make the world a better place,” he said. “Eight-year-olds like that answer. Hopefully 28- and 48-year-olds will, too.”

Behind closed doors in the 19th Congressional District

Knocking on the doors of an incredibly diverse district that includes farms, urban centers and suburbs has given Shuldiner a glimpse into local life. Battling “yippee dogs” is just one small part of his quest. Yesterday (Tuesday), he was asked in to eat a burrito with strangers, and he's been invited into more homes than he can count to escape the unrelenting summer heat and talk about his vision to transform the political landscape.

When asked why people seem angry yet appear to lack the desire to take action, Shuldiner pointed out that people today work two or three jobs to support their families. The commute into Manhattan from the New Hamburg train station, where he spent Monday morning, is nearly an hour and 40 minutes-one way. By the time people get home at night, he said, they might yell at the television, but simply lack the time to organize against the powers that be.

Communities have also been eroded by high property taxes, Shuldiner told the North County News, which means that people in his age bracket can't afford to move back home.

“There's no such thing as a nine-to-five job anymore,” he said, adding another pitfall to long work days is the lack of time to join civic organizations aimed at strengthening the community. Computers and the Internet have provided young people with a social outlet that was once fulfilled by actual meetings and gatherings. Democrats fail to cultivate a farm team, Shuldiner contended. Republicans tend to be the far more organized party, as evidenced by the slam dunk takeover of the government's multiple checks and balances system while Democrats struggle with the “anything but Bush” burden.

Several of the candidates have complained about the proximity of the primary to the election, with the leading gripe being that very little time is available to the winner between the two events to swing the balance of the vote.

While Shuldiner recognizes that this practice was created to protect incumbents, he said it's the reason why his campaign has been “on the ground for so long”.

“When people head for the polls,” Shuldiner said, “they will have already met me.”

While it's impossible to keep track of how many people have gotten face time with Shuldiner, he estimates the number at roughly 10,000, which happens to be around the same number of voters who turned out for the district's last Democratic primary, despite a census estimate of 140,000 registered Democrats.

Facts about the campaign's grassroots efforts

- Of 12 full-time staffers, six spend 100 percent of their time building a grassroots network and making personal contact with the voters.

- Over two dozen dedicated volunteers, many of whom are teachers, have pitched in.

- 400 lawn signs have been spread through the district, with more to come.

- Supporters across the district are holding intimate house parties so Shuldiner can meet and talk with people in a casual atmosphere.

- Shuldiner spends at least half of his time every day knocking on doors and greeting people at train stations, grocery stores, and other public places.

- www.ben2006.com allows people to learn about Shuldiner's positions, find out how to get involved, and ask questions.

- “Midnight Madness” was held on Friday, July 14. Shuldiner and 16 staffers and volunteers split into five teams and spread out around the district to put up lawn signs to mark 60 days to the primary election. They were out from midnight to around 4 a.m. and put up more than 300 signs.

Shuldiner's staff speaks out

With a staff young enough to be willing to live in Shuldiner's grandparents' house, it goes without saying that the energy level is through the roof. Shuldiner's staffers shared their insight into the unusual campaign with the North County News:

“When you have a dozen full-time staffers and over 50 volunteers, all with unique schedules, qualities and abilities, it becomes a full-time job to make sure the 'peoplepower' is best utilized,” said Deputy Campaign Manager Sam Cohen. “Ben's committed to making personal connections with the voters, so I encourage our staff and volunteers to focus on those connections as well. Sure, there's an aspect of the job that relies on numbers and statistics, but it's much more about enthusiasm and dedication.”

Field organizer Scott Abramson said he has learned to see the focus beyond the fray.

“I think lots of people picture campaigns as adventurous, chaotic or even outrageous,” Abramson noted. “White I certainly believe there's an element of adventure, it's actually much more structured and focused than I had anticipated. We have people to contact, a message to get out, grounds to cover- it's all laid out. The most fun I have is when I am able to contribute to the strategy. Where should we go? How do we recruit more volunteers? What more can we do to get the word out about Ben?”

With the district's diverse demographic comes a wealth of opportunities to reach out to voters.

“There's really no 'average' day,” said Eric Katz, field intern. “I might go out and talk with senior citizens or union members, I could spend several hours on the phone rallying support for the campaign, or I could visit restaurants and public halls to plan for campaign events. It's really great to have so much variety within any given week and I enjoy all my various responsibilities.”

Staffers take turns accompanying Shuldiner to the train station before the rooster crows.

“Yeah, it's exhausting getting up at 5 a.m. to meet Ben at the train station to talk with commuters about the campaign, and then knocking on doors until 9 p.m., but the work I'm doing has purpose,” Amanda Miller, field organizer, told the North County News. “I know why I'm here and who I'm working for and it drives me. After we win in November - then I'll sleep.”

Communications manager Alex Medina believes in the campaign's ceaseless door-knocking journey.

“Modern campaigns tend to 'work' the news media in order to create hype, but this campaign doesn't do that,” Medina said. “We're focused on meeting the people in the district. Voters shouldn't have to use 'eeny meeny miny mo' to pick their representative from a list. They should be able to vote for someone they know, which is why I like that we are out there, knocking on doors and creating relationships. While the news media is really important for keeping people informed, media buzz can never replace personal contact.”

And finally, Shuldiner's campaign manager Lauren Shapiro weighed in.

“Most of my days are spent trying to keep up with Ben,” she admitted. “He's up meeting people at the train station by 6 a.m., so I usually feel like a slacker getting to the office by 8:30. He really wants to make Washington pay more attention to the needs of the middle and working classes, so he loves spending time talking to people about their concerns. My job is to make sure that his personal contact and determination is complemented by a cohesive message and a strong team of staffers and volunteers.”

Without hesitation, any one of them will state with absolute conviction that Shuldiner has a clear shot not only at winning the upcoming primary, but come November, when the polls will reveal whether local voters have had enough of Kelly, or if the six terms she'll have served by then have left her constituents hungry for more.