I helped him win... by Teri Velardi

The following appeared this week at Forbes.com, written by Miami resident Terri Velardi.

Commentary
I Helped Him Win
Teri Velardi 11.07.08, 3:30 PM ET
HOLLYWOOD, FLA. -
Last Friday was an eventful day. It was Halloween, and it was also five days before the most critical election in my lifetime. It was also the day I became a statistic. In October, 6.5% of Americans were unemployed, according to the most recent statistics from the Labor Department. And on Oct. 31, I joined their ranks when I was laid off from my corporate job in apparel manufacturing and sales. I am 34 years old. Like many other Americans, I am now unemployed for the first time in my adult life. (click on, 'read more')

I could have sulked. But I needed to focus on why I found myself in this situation in the first place. My company was feeling the effects of the weakened economy. It could not afford to pay as many employees as it once did because its customer base (big-box retailers) couldn't afford to buy as many clothes as they did before. I realized that I needed now, more than ever, to donate my time to the Obama campaign.

I agreed with Obama's belief that the middle class had been neglected under the Bush administration, and he would address this problem by lowering taxes and health care costs for my demographic. His attentiveness to the economic crisis told me he was ready to fight for me. So, last weekend, I fought for him.

My friends and I spent the weekend in here in Hollywood, just south of Ft. Lauderdale and 20 miles north of Miami. I imagine the neighborhoods we canvassed mirrored those in the rest of the country--residents were filled with both enthusiasm and apathy about the election. Some were happy to see us approach their doors; they let us know they had already cast their vote for Obama. Others felt no need to even answer our knocks.

One particular woman we met wasn't even on our list of voters to approach. But she simply wanted to have a conversation about her personal experience. She had just retired because of an ongoing battle with breast cancer; she had not yet voted and was still on the fence. Because she lived alone, she worried about her tax burden. We explained to her why she should review Obama's stances on relevant issues and encouraged her to research more on her own before making a decision.

At first, she was skeptical of our mini-stump speech. But by the time we were through explaining our point of view, she said she planned to cast a vote for the first time in a long time. We don't know if she voted for Obama--but what mattered to us was that she voted at all.

We also encountered many Floridians who were not U.S. citizens. But these families, here on visas, passionately told us their opinions. From Canada and Europe, they told us they supported Obama and cheered us on even though they could not vote.

I volunteered for Bill Clinton's campaign during college, but that did not fill me with electric energy like Obama's did last weekend. Hollywood did not contain as many McCain/Palin supporters as other parts of Florida. It speaks to the significance of this election that the few we did see were kind to us, saying they appreciated any effort to get out the vote--even if we were campaigning for the other side.

But the effects of the economic crisis were never far from my mind. To be sure, there were plenty of lawn signs and community members who cheered on street corners for their team. But it was impossible to ignore the number of homes that were empty or had foreclosure notices posted in the yard.

Throughout the weekend, I held a clipboard with the names of registered voters. I would stand in front of a vacant house and read the names of the people who once lived there. I started to wonder. Who were they? Just how bad was their financial situation that they had to desert their home? My mission that weekend suddenly became especially clear. We needed to speak to as many people as possible and make them understand the importance of this election.

I may have lost my job, but now, in the post-election glow, the future is still bright. My days as a volunteer reminded me that I am fortunate to be an American, because my voice and vote played a role in shaping the next four years. Those are years in which, I believe, I will find a new job in the apparel industry and also pursue another goal of mine--to be a personal trainer and nutritionist. The woman we met will get affordable health care; the families we met will become citizens and the foreclosed homes will be filled. I really believe that change is here, and I could not be prouder.

Teri Velardi lives in Miami, Fla.