Volunteers Hit Streets of NYC

While most students spent the last day of break sleeping in at home or idling around campus, several Columbia Democrats left for Washington Heights at 6:45 a.m. on Tuesday to campaign with mayoral candidate Fernando Ferrer.

But Tuesday's early morning campaign stop was nothing unusual for the student politicos. With the final hours of the mayoral race slipping away, both Columbia students and mayoral candidates furiously campaigned all around New York City.

Ferrer and Bloomberg both campaigned until the very last minute. Ferrer appeared on Monday with Rev. Al Sharpton then Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) CC '83, while Bloomberg traveled to every borough, concluding with a visit to the top of the Empire State Building.

He appeared with his family and Democratic City Council members Miguel Martinez and Robert Jackson. Meanwhile, campaign workers handed out brochures and copies of The Ferrer Express, a "newspaper" listing Ferrer's endorsements and outlining his views on issues like affordable housing and education.

Passersby responded with differing levels of enthusiasm. In response to a campaigner's assertion that Ferrer was on his side, one man demanded, "And what side is that?" before storming away, shaking his head.

Another accepted the literature with a smile and commented enthusiastically, "And a great man he is!"

In the final weeks, students also participated in the former Bronx borough president's campaign.
On Nov. 3, more than a dozen Columbia students participated in a 6:30 a.m. Ferrer rally outside the 96th Street subway station.

Members of the Columbia College Democrats worked for months to increase Ferrer's visibility. "A lot of people were really grateful for the information," said Seth Flaxman, CC '07, the group's president, who handed out literature about Ferrer in the weeks leading up to the election. "I think a lot of New Yorkers just don't know where he stands, and we've made it our responsibility to tell them."

The Ferrer campaign remained outwardly optimistic until the end, despite dismal polling numbers. "The talk on the streets is very different from what you see in the polls," campaign representative Carmen Perez said.

But ultimately, Bloomberg's 38-point lead in Tuesday morning's Quinniapiac University polls tightened to a still generous 20 point lead in vote count, handing him the reelection.
Both the College Democrats and College Republicans have focused on distributing information about the mayoral candidates this fall.

One month ago, the Democrats brought Perez to Columbia to talk to students about the Ferrer campaign and mobilize volunteers. "One of the big reasons we had [Perez] come talk at a body meeting is because we wanted our members to have an opportunity to ask questions and delve into the issues," said Nickole Miller, CC '08 and the College Democrats' secretary. "I think most people think of Ferrer as 'the opponent of Bloomberg' instead of thinking about his positions."
While the College Republicans did not actively campaign in the weeks leading up to the election, they have also hosted several speakers, including Barry Popik, candidate for Manhattan borough president, and Mayor Bloomberg. "We feel it's our duty to support Republicans in college. If they want to get involved with a campaign, we can help them do that," said Ann Klibaner, CC '08 and president of the College Republicans.

Another group, Students for Bloomberg, also worked for the reelection of the current mayor. "The core group of Columbia people who have been working on the campaign were there in the beginning when the polls were within a few points, and they stayed on until Bloomberg pulled this far ahead-and I think we played a big part in that pulling ahead," said the group's vice president, Chris Kulawik, CC '08 and a Spectator columnist.

Many members of that core group interned for Bloomberg last summer. They were later joined by other students, mostly from the College Republicans, in the reelection campaign. "We have tried to build bipartisan support for Bloomberg on campus as well as in the city," Kulawik said. "I think it worked."