VOLUNTEER DAY
BATTENFELD: WALSH ASKS STAFFERS FOR ‘DAY OF SERVICE’ TO GET OUT VOTE
Just weeks before Election Day, the Walsh administration is asking City Hall staffers to volunteer for a “day of service” to knock on doors of elderly Boston residents and provide them with information about city services.
The city’s chief of civic engagement, Jerome Smith, sent out an email blast yesterday “looking for volunteers” for what’s being billed as “Project Connectthe-Knocks!” — a daylong blitz of targeted seniors, many of whom will be headed to the voting booth on Nov. 7.
Mayor Martin J. Walsh is slated to kick off the ambitious project next Friday in Mattapan in what amounts to a helpful bit of pre-election promotion showcasing the power of City Hall.
“Following a brief training, volunteers will head out in teams to knock on the doors of the households we’ve identified, conduct a brief survey and distribute information on available resources,” Smith said in the email, obtained by the Herald.
“It will be a busy morning starting at 8 a.m. Food will be provided as a thank you to our wonderful volunteers,” the email states.
The “volunteers” will be allowed to take a day off their regular City Hall jobs in what city officials call “an important day of service.” All city workers must get permission from their bosses to participate.
The project is not an official campaign event — it’s paid for by city taxpayers. But the targeted door-knocking effort — similar to voter canvassing that takes place in political campaigns — could provide Walsh with some feel-good publicity just 2 ⁄2
1 weeks before voters go to the polls.
Walsh has not been shy about using the powers of his incumbency in his race against City Councilor Tito Jackson. The mayor has kept up a full schedule of official events — up to four or five per day — while doing little actual campaigning, the Herald reported earlier this week.
Officials say the project is part of the city’s “Age-Friendly Action Plan” put out in May. The plan aims to engage “potentially isolated” elderly residents who may not be aware of city services, such as information on property tax relief, tax credits, home repairs, elderly commission programs, sewer and water discounts and a program for replacement of inefficient furnaces.
Mattapan was picked for the launch of the project because it has a heavy concentration of older residents and those who speak Haitian and Spanish, officials said.
The late October date was chosen because of the impending winter when residents need help the most, officials said.
But it also happens to coincide with a critical time in the campaign, when Walsh is looking to cement his 35-point lead in the polls and connect with voters.