High tech, low budget, Lawless campaign already in gear

WARWICK, RI - Buffeted by the heat and humidity, a back door propped open and a fan to aid in circulating the heavy air, staffers working from a Conimicut storefront on Jennifer Lawless’ campaign for Congress seemed unaffected by conditions. Everyone, according to the candidate, is volunteering their time.

With only one day (off) a week, 22-year-old Campaign Manager Adam Deitch said all of the volunteers, most ranging in their teens and twenties, typically start at 8:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday and keep the lights on until at least 6 and as late as 9 p.m. All of the staff is Brown graduates, and all took classes with Lawless, a professor teaching political science at the Ivy League school.

Taking a lesson herself from Vermont Governor Howard Dean’s 2004 Presidential bid, the Lawless camp is recruiting younger voters to help them sustain a “grass roots and progressive” effort to unseat an incumbent. Instead of George W. Bush, Lawless is facing a less formidable, though nonetheless entrenched opponent, Jim Langevin. And like Dean’s non-traditional strategy, campaign workers are using computers and the Internet to garner support and for fundraising.

Despite the sparse furnishings, volunteers all have laptops, the click-click on the keyboards evident in the small office as each enters or retrieves some form of data. Plastered throughout the storefront office are Lawless campaign signs with the slogan, “A wave of change for the Ocean State.” Nearby a small color television is tuned to CNN.

The 30 year-old Lawless is a recent transplant from Providence’s East Side having moved to an apartment in Cranston’s Edgewood section in order to be an official resident of the 2nd Congressional District.

Deitch is also a former student of the candidate, having graduated Brown in May with a B.A. in political science and sociology, saying that he left his East Side apartment, too, choosing to return home to live with his parents in Lincoln. Admitting that the decision was made to cut corners on expenses, he did so after agreeing to help Lawless pro bono.

“My income has pretty much slowed to a halt,” Deitch said.

Living off of savings he accumulated through college, Deitch appeared unsettled revealing details of his current living arrangement. Lawless in turn offered him a gesture of understanding and support as she patted him on the hand.

Last week, Lawless and Langevin were required to file a quarterly campaign finance report with the Federal Elections Commission. Announcing her candidacy just last month, Lawless has $9,249.50 on hand in her campaign war chest after expenses, while Langevin’s re-election bid is being bolstered with a total of $232,581, a difference of more than $223,000.

The chasm of money separating the two didn’t seem to trouble Lawless, though. She said her base of support early on has been from friends in academia, family (including her parents), and friends. Once she could establish better name recognition, Lawless remained confident that her success at fundraising would improve considerably.

Still, the unconventional approach the Lawless campaign has chosen to employ hasn’t been glitch free. One donor who recently used a credit card to make a donation on-line at www.lawlessforcongress.com was inadvertently charged twice and eventually issued a $2,100 refund.

Building awareness of the candidate’s presence is a definite priority for Deitch as the campaign slowly gains momentum. He’s made sure that Lawless was meeting potential voters at the recent Wickford Arts Festival, and arranged that she mill about with crowds during Fourth of July celebrations in Gloucester and Snug Harbor in South Kingstown.

Parades aside, Deitch said that Lawless would also be working aggressively to meet voters where they live over the next 15 months.

“Going door to door like no other candidate has gone before,” said Deitch, unwittingly sounding like Captain Kirk from the TV series “Star Trek.”

“This campaign is really about listening to what matters to Rhode Islanders,” said Deitch.

Expecting to face Langevin in a September 2006 primary, Lawless charged that her opponent is too much a part of the “Washington political establishment.”

“We don’t need a Representative in Washington who is just caving in to the Republican agenda; we need a leader who is going to fight against it,” Lawless said in a prepared statement, adding that individuals that she’s spoken to have expressed “strong sentiment for a change.”

“Clearly the voters don’t believe the same as she does,” responded Joy Fox, Langevin’s Press Secretary, who noted that the Congressman’s 2004 win reflected a 75-percent margin of victory.

But Fox acknowledged that Langevin’s Knight Street campaign office in Warwick has not geared up for a full time operation as yet, and called the activities there “sporadic” for now.

Too early to invest in expensive TV, radio or print advertising, Lawless has accepted numerous invitations to discuss her platform at no expense, appearing as a guest on local talk shows including the Arlene Violet program on WHJJ-AM.

A native of Middletown, NY and born in the borough of Queens, Lawless’ campaign so far is concentrating on four main issues: education, healthcare, jobs and “choice”, the latter defined as addressing women’s reproductive rights and abortion, a procedure Langevin, who is pro-life, opposes.

The lack of name recognition, and limited finances are only two of the more obvious hurdles Lawless knows she must overcome. Adding to her plight is confirmation from the leadership of the state Democratic Party that they would support the incumbent.

“The expectation is that they plan to endorse Rep. Langevin,” said Lawless, something that led Deitch to interject with, “It’s an indication of the establishment and insider politics,” noting that the party’s decision would have “no bearing” on how hard the campaign would work.

“I wouldn’t be running for office if I didn’t think I had a chance to win,” said Lawless, a resilient tone in her voice.

This article, written by Mark Silberstein, appeared on July 21, 2005, in the Warwick Beacon.