Jehlen’s team works to remind voters election day is here and now

By Elizabeth McNamara

   For Patricia D. Jehlen’s campaign team, the crucial challenge is not getting votes for their candidate, but just getting voters to the polls.
   “Turnout – that’s our biggest problem today,” said Georgia Hollister Isman, Jehlen’s campaign manager.  She said, regardless of the final outcome of today’s election, results would be determined from a very low-turnout of voters. 

   “There’s nothing else on the ballot to draw people out [to the polls],” said Hollister Isman.  “Plus, it’s the last Tuesday in September.  People aren’t going to wake up today and say, ‘Oh, it’s Election Day; I’m going to go vote.’  They’re always thinking about the first Tuesday in November.”
    The 2nd Middlesex Senate seat was left vacant by the death of Charles E. Shannon Jr.
     It’s a vacancy  Jehlen and William A. White are both working to fill today. 
     “All elections are always big,” said Hollister Isman.  “We work hard to win them all.”
     Hollister Isman started as Jehlen’s campaign manager in May, replacing Sean Carberry . She said she is proud of the way her campaign team handled the primaries and, that efforts has prepared them for today’s special election.
    “Because what drives turnout is the strength of the campaign,” she said.  “The perception is this time we had less direct mail to prep people and so awareness about the election will go down.”
     Both Jehlen and White’s teams have had only 2 to 3 weeks between the primary elections and this final election to gather information about the opposing candidates, generate local support, create voter awareness, and strategize a game plan. 
     “Some people are going to be working the phonebooks, calling our supporters, anyone who’s got the potential to get out here and vote,” said Hollister Isman of her team plans in the final push toward what they hope will be success.  “This evening we’re going to go door-to-door as we did in the primaries.”
      Jehlen’s campaign team expects “hundreds” of helpers and supporters to help rally a last-minute effort by the end of the day, Hollister Isman said. 
     “We had more than 50 people at six o’clock this morning,” she said laughing and pointing to a small foldout table with several large, empty, and decimated Dunkin’ Donuts boxes aside scattered napkins, mixing straws and sugar packets.
    “We had hundreds of volunteers [for the primaries], too,” she said.  “That’s how you do it:   Focus with one-on-one personal attention from not only the candidate and their team, but also from great spokespeople that volunteer their time to help Pat.”
     Hollister Isman called those volunteers “wonderful and enthusiastic” people who followed Jehlen through her years leading up to and acting as a state representative.
     “They’re people who are excited to see a progressive or a democratic leadership; they’re teachers, nurses, members of AFICIO and other various organizations,” she said.
      It’s this personal attention and determination to motivate voters Hollister Isman said she hopes will give an edge to Jehlen’s efforts today.   
      “What’s going to happen tonight? Well, people are going to stop voting, then somebody’s going to tally the votes, and then a winner will be announced. I’ll jinx it if I say anymore,” she said.