Spend no money — or at least as little as possible. That is the goal of most politicians when they set up their campaign headquarters. As such, they often end up setting up camp in vacant storefronts or other unused space.
Such was the case for Greg Scoma, who kicked off the opening of his campaign headquarters last month with a welcome barbecue for supporters. Scoma is running as delegate of the 44th District. Garrett Moewe, Scoma’s campaign manager, said that they found this space on Richmond Highway by knocking on doors. The owner agreed to let them use it until November.
"We steam cleaned the rugs, painted, washed windows and fixed it up," Moewe said.
Scoma’s wife, Rodica, said that they did most of the work themselves. Moewe said that they have three phone lines for volunteers like Ryan DeWerd to come in and help out. Members of the Kilgore campaign are also helping by using cell phones.
Scoma is thankful of what the owner, Sean Vermillion, has done for them. Not only is it a place to set up camp, but it is highly visible on Route One, opposite Beacon Mall. Moewe said that they plan to hang a different sign every morning.
Del. Kristen J. Amundson (D-44) isn’t as concerned about visibility; she just wants a place that’s easy to find and has access to the Metro. She said that they’ve had a different space for every election. This year, she is sharing space with Del. Mark D. Sickles (D-43) in the shopping center on North Kings Highway.
"I don’t care about visibility, but I want to be close to the Metro," she said.
Since she was sharing with Sickles, they also had to find a place that was accessible to both districts.
"The goal is to spend no money," she said.
CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS are just a way to provide a home for volunteers so that they don’t have to be camped out at the candidate’s home. Volunteers spend hours at headquarters so candidates will bring in microwaves and refrigerators. Amundson recalls one volunteer who used to come in late to work and sleep at headquarters; it’s not something she recommends.
Alanna Kelly, campaign manager for Amundson, said that they’re at headquarters seven days a week. Last month, she was working on mailings and was expecting some West Potomac students to come in and help. Kevin Hyde, campaign manager for Sickles, was working on a fund-raiser for Sickles that was held in Falls Church last month.
"We’re doing the final preparation — making phone calls to see if people received the invitations and checking on food and setup," Hyde said.
Also helping out was Phil Berenbroick, Amundson’s legislative aide; Rachel Barinbaum, campaign core staffer from Emily’s List; and Ron Lehman, field director for Amundson and Sickles.
Gail Parker, who is also running as delegate of the 44th District, is running her campaign out of her home in Montebello. She is running a door-to-door campaign and not utilizing many volunteers.
"I do have a few volunteers who have been very helpful to me," Parker said. "They go door to door with me. I have been going door to door since February," Parker said, estimating that she has visited as many as 10,000 homes. She records all the names and numbers and said that the reception to her ideas has been very good.
She has done one mailing to the 42,000 registered voters in her district and has received some financial support via that vehicle; she has not held any fund-raisers to date. She estimates that 90 percent of her money is spent on her door-to-door campaign.
"I’m encouraged by the contributions I’ve received," she said.