Summer is a time for rest, relaxation
and basking in the sun, but for a group of recent Colorado
College graduates it means a mixture of paddling and
politics.
Paddle for
the Presidency is a
nonpartisan group of twentysomethings canoeing the entire
length of the Mississippi River in an effort to increase youth
voter participation.
The team began its journey at Lake
Itasca in Minnesota during June and will have traveled 2,300
miles down the river by the time it reaches New Orleans in
August. They will paddle into the Quad-Cities today along with
Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack’s son, Doug. During a 5-8 p.m. rally at
LeClaire Park in Davenport, Gov. Vilsack is scheduled to
speak, as is another Democrat, Iowa 1st Congressional District
candidate Bill Gluba of Davenport, and members of the Paddle
for the Presidency team.
A love for the outdoors shared
by five friends, coupled with a “strong feeling of civic
service,” brought about the river voyage, said Michael
Goldstone, one of the founders and the group’s treasurer.
“I always wanted to make a positive change happen in
this country,” said Goldstone, who has been on several
canoeing trips before. “It’s extremely difficult for a young
person to feel like they are making a difference. As a group
coming together, we feel that we can, that our actions
actually do make a difference, that you can actually change
the way people think.
“And that’s kind of a difficult
thing to find.”
The group soon grew to 15 with the help
of an extended network of friends who wanted to do something
about the low percentage of youth voter turnout nationwide.
Todd Chapman, who is also a Colorado College graduate and the
public relations director for the group, was one of those
people.
“I was once a very politically apathetic
youth,” said Chapman, adding that the group did not feel that
holding protests or gathering petition signatures would be as
effective. “I just had the feeling that the system in place
didn’t represent me. My friends all kind of felt this
way.”
In 2000, according to the Associated Press, only
29 percent of eligible 18- to 24-year-old voters — about 8.4
million — cast a ballot in the hotly contested presidential
election.
“Politicians don’t listen to youth voter
issues because youth voters don’t vote,” Chapman said, adding
that the Mississippi River trip is important because seven of
the 10 states along the waterway are considered swing, or
battleground, states in this year’s presidential
election.
“There’s no better way to make a young person
feel that their vote counts than if they could really tip the
scale,” he added.
The canoeists paddle in shifts of
three and will stop in 14 cities along the way. At each stop,
a rally is held with speakers and bands, and attendees are
given access to voter registration forms and an opportunity to
sign pledge cards: one pledging to register to vote, one
pledging to go to the polls and one pledging to get 10 friends
registered and to the polls.
Once the last canoe is out
of the water, the group’s job will be far from over. On
cellular phones donated by U.S. Cellular, members will begin
calling those who signed the pledges, reminding them to go to
the polls on Election Day, Goldstone said.
“It’s been
an eye-opening experience to grass-roots politics and reaching
young people,” Chapman said.
Rallying
voters
What: Paddle for the
Presidency
rally
Where: LeClaire Park,
Davenport
When: 5-8 p.m. today
Who: Iowa
Gov. Tom Vilsack Congressional Democratic candidate Bill Gluba
of
Davenport and members of Paddle for the
Presidency
For more information: go to
http://www.paddleforthepresidency.org/The
city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2245 or
newsroom@qctimes.com.
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