HOUGHTON -- State Representative Mike Lahti (D-Hancock) met with supporters of Barack Obama, Democratic presidential candidate, on Saturday, Sept. 27, to discuss volunteer efforts to get out the vote for Obama's Campaign for Change during these last few weeks before the Nov. 4 election.
Mike Lahti, State Representative for Michigan's 110th District, meets with supporters of Barack Obama's Campaign for Change on Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Super 8 Motel in Houghton. Click on photos for larger versions. (Photo © 2008 Michele Bourdieu.)Lahti offered suggestions and fielded questions from the group on the best ways to reach undecided voters and to inform the public about the coming Oct. 6, 2008, deadline for voter registration.
"I like going door-to-door. It's a nice chance to get to meet folks," Lahti said. "It can be fun."
Volunteers who attended the session, held at the Super 8 Motel in Houghton, reported having good experiences knocking on doors and talking to Copper Country residents.
Mike Levin, field organizer for Obama's Campaign for Change, said he has had some great talks with local residents in his door-to-door canvassing.
"People are so nice up here," he said.
Community artist and volunteer Mary Wright of Hancock confirmed the importance of door-to-door visits.
"Research shows that the most effective way of changing undecided voters is face-to-face, person-to-person contact," she said.
Wright commended the young volunteers from Houghton High School for their efforts on behalf of Obama's Campaign for Change.
Nathan Held, a junior at Houghton High and one of those volunteers, was enthusiastic about working for the Campaign.
"It's the largest presidential campaign ever in Michigan," Held said. "I've been interested in politics since 2000. I lived in Louisiana at that time."
Held's family moved to Houghton in 2006. Before that he became an ardent supporter of Al Gore.
"I'm reading his book right now -- The Assault on Reason," he noted. "I definitely agree with him on global warming."
Stacy Welling, campaign manager for U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) addressed the group and encouraged them to support Stupak's campaign for re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives. Stupak represents Congressional District 1, which includes almost half of Michigan's land mass and 1,613 miles of shoreline.*
State Representative Mike Lahti, second from left, spoke with young Obama supporters at a meeting Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Super 8 Motel in Houghton. Pictured with Lahti, from left, are Mike Levin, field organizer for Obama's Campaign for Change; Nathan Held, Houghton High School volunteer for Obama; and Stacy Welling, campaign manager for U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee), who is running for re-election. (Photo © 2008 Michele Bourdieu.)"Congressman Stupak has worked extremely hard for the U.P. and Northern Michigan, and I'm honored to work with him," Welling said.
Lahti also spoke in support of Stupak, noting that the U.S. Congressman faces the most opposition he has had so far in his eight terms (since 1992) representing all of the Upper Peninsula and the northern part of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, one of the largest Congressional districts in the nation.
"He's very well prepared and hard-working," Lahti said. "He works hard for the district. He's a good representative for this area."
Welling encouraged those attending the meeting to put out yard signs for the candidates.
"It's so important to do that," she said.
Mike Levin noted a new batch of signs recently arrived in the Houghton County Democrats' new office at 509 Shelden Ave, Houghton. He said the office is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day.
Lahti also spoke about the recent Michigan legislative session. While he noted less rancor among representatives this year, he added Michigan is still in rough shape economically. Training people for jobs needs to happen right in the local community, he added.
In addition to jobs, nursing homes for the aged and health care are big issues in Michigan, Lahti noted.
"We're waiting to see a new person in the White House so we can get some help with that," he said.
Lahti said he would be spending the next few weeks, while the Michigan legislature is on break, working on his own campaign for re-election.**
Mary Hunt, who co-ordinates volunteers at the Calumet office for the Houghton County Democrats, at 305 Sixth St., mentioned the need to inform the public not only about the Oct. 6 registration deadline but also where they should go to vote. This information is available on the Internet.
You can find out if you're registered and where you should vote by signing in at https://services2.sos.state.mi.us/mivote/.
Information on how to register is also on the Michigan.gov site:
http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,1607,7-127-1633_11619-123989--,00.html#5
Learn more about Senator Barack Obama's Campaign for Change by visiting his Web site.
* See Congressman Bart Stupak's Campaign Web site to learn more about issues facing the U.P. and Northern Michigan.
** See Mike Lahti's Campaign Web site, his official Michigan House Democrats site and his new blog to learn more about his campaign and local issues he supports.
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