As election day approaches, activism and interest in politics not just at the national level, but also at the local level, are becoming more crucial than ever. On Sunday, October 6, we sat down with two Ursinus students who attended an open event hosted by The Collegeville Democrats and Kamala Harris for President entitled “Canvass Kickoff with Senator Casey and Governor Shapiro.” Chris McCarthy ‘27, an International Relations and Psychology double major, shared the reason for his attendance, stating:
“I chose to go to this event because I feel like every person who is passionate about politics should learn about their own local political community. This event demonstrated how politics are run on a local level, which affects us all nationally. I find that not many people have been discussing the race for Senator between Bob Casey and Dave McCormick and have only been discussing the presidential race. People may often overlook how crucial our Congress is.”
McCarthy emphasizes the importance of local elections, as he believes they have a huge impact on our daily lives. “The small events like the one I attended hold an enormous impact on the future of our country and my hope is that we can stop simply campaigning for our… presidential candidates, but go to local events to really make a change and educate people about those who hold other offices. Many of us only want to go to events that feature famous public officials, myself included, but I’m happy that I got to meet with a small group of like-minded people who hold genuine passion for their beliefs and I urge all of us at this school to be more active in our communities if we wish to make a change.”
Vincent Pfattner from the Class of ’27, an International Relations and Politics double major, shared a similar sentiment, adding, “I chose to attend the event because I’m passionate about politics and have previously taken part in activities organized by the Collegeville Democrats. I saw this event as a great opportunity to connect with others who share similar views in the community and to learn more about the speakers’ perspectives. Both speakers frequently addressed issues such as abortion rights, the threats to our democracy, and gun violence.
The event was primarily focused on making a case for Bob Casey and promoting his reelection campaign by highlighting his accomplishments during his term and pointing out perceived flaws in his opponent, Dave McCormick.” As for the agenda of the event, McCarthy elaborated:
“There were a lot of different people who were present and spoke at the event who held various offices on the local and national level. To start off, I found it refreshing that State Representative Joe Webster was there, helping organize this event for his community. Last semester, he spoke to the Environmental Studies department about the policies that he was putting forth to protect our local environment. He showed the same energy and passion during both events and demonstrated how the local policies that he introduced affect us all nationally. Another speaker was our Governor, Josh Shapiro. Truthfully, his attendance was a large driving factor for my attendance… He passionately endorsed Senator Bob Casey’s reelection.”
“Governor Shapiro also focused on the history of our republic from a quote from Benjamin Franklin regarding citizens who were questioning him about whether a monarchy or Republic was created. He told them, ‘A Republic if you can keep it.’ I found this to be such a powerful quote, especially during these times. A republic is only founded on the basis … of people and the people are the ones who have to uphold it, which is something Shapiro heavily stressed. WE have to be the ones who advocate for our basic human rights and cannot let anyone take those away from us, something which we have to do by electing officials who respect us as people.”
With more and more political division in the country, it is refreshing to see more younger individuals becoming informed and politically involved. McCarthy also noted in this discussion that there were a very limited number of people under the age of 60 in attendance, a fact he expressed a slight bit of disappointment about. It is quite easy to be focused on the huge campaigns we see on the news and on our social media feeds daily, however many still feel helpless to affect them. A small step is taking into consideration offices at the local level. The Kickoff to Canvass was the opening event to members of the community interested in going door to door and pushing for the election of Democratic Representatives and Kamala Harris.