PENINSULA CANDIDATES GETTING CREATIVE
With constraints of pandemic, improvisation in campaigns
Election Day is less than three weeks away — but it’s not easy to tell.
There have been no rallies, no door-knocking and voters can’t learn much about a candidate from yard signs.
So, how does someone run for office in a pandemic?
Get creative.
Candidates in Hampton and Newport News have pivoted to video, held virtual town halls and Facebook Live events. Some also doubled down on tried and true resources — snail mail, flyers, signs and phone calls.
Or dress up like the Easter Bunny.
Lance Jones, a Hampton social services staffer running for City Council, took that option while delivering some 50 signs to homes on Easter. He borrowed a rabbit costume from a friend.
“I was sitting at home on the Saturday before Easter and I couldn’t go to anyone’s church. I’ve always gone to church on Easter, or we had an Easter egg hunt. (This year) everyone was stuck in the home,” Jones said. “I did it to add some cheer. A lot of homes had small children.”
Unable to spend as much time telling voters about her platforms, Hampton Councilwoman Chris Osby Snead meshed distributing campaign materials with donations to those who may need some help during the pandemic.
She partnered with local restaurants and launched a senior meal challenge on her Facebook page. Participants call a restaurant and donate a meal to a senior, and the delivery person passes
out absentee ballots and campaign literature with the meal.
“Many of them live alone and don’t have any family close by. They are in the vulnerable group,” Snead said.
Cameron Bertrand, a candidate for the central district seat on the Newport News School Board, used his platform to share information about distributions by the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank and organize a food drive. Many families that he works with through Violence Intervention and Prevention LLC, a company he started to provide mentorship and support services to children, had reached out with concerns about finding groceries.
Rebecca Aman, also a candidate for the central district seat in Newport News, posted videos about helping her children through distance learning.
Video has become a medium of choice for many candidates.
Cleon Long, a candidate for a Central District City Council seat in Newport News, has used Zoom, the suddenly popular video conferencing service, to have discussions with voters. While not able to gather people for discussions, he said he’s used local businesses as the backdrop to help promote them a bit.
For Tina Vick, Newport News’ Vice Mayor who is running for re-election in the South District, Facebook Live is her video service of choice. She’s gone live from areas of the city that have seen private investment or construction improvements in recent years to highlight her role in those projects.
Latonya “Abys” Wallace, a candidate for a Newport News City Council South District, said she doubled down on an older piece of technology — the telephone. She’s asked supporters to call five to 10 supporters to chat about the election and then ask each of them to contact another five to 10 people.
Along with adjusting to campaign safely, candidates had to navigate the uncertainty of the actual date of the election. May elections are scheduled for the first Tuesday of the month, but as the state government began mandating closures, many wondered if that would be possible.
Registrars encouraged absentee balloting as officials discussed potentially pushing back the elections. On April 22, the General Assembly ruled out moving the local elections to November, and Gov. Ralph Northam decided soon after to push back those elections two weeks to May 19.
Ann Cherry, currently chair of the Hampton school board and up for reelection on May 19, said she suspended her campaign almost entirely when the economic effects of the pandemic became clear. She didn’t restart it until the General Assembly failed to move the election during its veto session on April 22.
“I wanted to make sure I as a candidate wasn’t putting my personal agenda ahead of the agenda of the community,” Cherry said.
Iva Schroyer, a candidate for the City Council in Newport News’ South District said many of her printed materials were rendered obsolete by the change to the election date. Additionally, deliveries of materials she’s ordered have been delayed as shipping has prioritized certain products. In the interim, she’s taken to Facebook Live, giving regular shoutsout to those doing good in the community.
Candidates said that they’ve made the necessary adjustments but miss the personal connections with voters made while campaigning. In the Hampton School Board election, where six candidates are competing for four at-large seats, candidates have said they miss the camaraderie cultivated at in-person forums and meetings.
The candidates have met via Zoom calls, including a broadcasted candidates’ forum and another with former board member and current delegate Martha Mugler.
Phyllis Henry is running for re-election after 16 years on the Hampton school board, its longest currently serving member. She wishes she had a chance to meet her opponents.
“Not only do you get to know usually your constituents and talk to them, but you get to meet all the people who are in the circus with you, that are going around to all the campaign events, and you realize they are really a group of really wonderful people who are trying to serve their city,” Henry said. “I miss that aspect of the campaign particularly.”