Posted in the MountainViews-Observer

Written by: Teresa Baxter on Aug 3, 2008 11:54 PM EDT

Democratic Headquarters Sets Up Shop On South Lake

By Teresa Baxter

    The recently opened Pasadena Area United Democratic Headquarters, located at 414 S. Lake Ave., is well represented by a consensus of the local population willing to volunteer time and work, with the aspirations of getting Barack Obama elected as the new President of the United States.

   12-year-old Quintin Kuo is the youngest volunteer and this is surprisingly the second campaign that he has devoted time to. Previously, his mother got him involved in the Kerry-Edwards presidential bid in 2004. 

   “I like helping out and volunteering here. I do a lot of things like filing, alphabetizing, making copies and prints,” said Kuo. “If I could meet Barack Obama I would tell him that I love his campaign, I work everyday and I believe in change.”

   Daniel Madore is giving his time as an intern, specializing in the voter registration process. Madore is currently a sophomore at the University of San Francisco and plans on a career in the movie or sports industry. He has no political aspirations but he is a staunch supporter for Obama.

   “As far as change…I can go back four years ago when I was watching the democratic nominations and Barack started speaking for John Kerry,” he said. “It was the first time I had seen him and the speech he gave was so remarkable that I knew right then he would be someone special.”

Mark Gonzalez is the Lead Field Coordinator of the volunteer staff and has been a part of the United Democratic Headquarters since 2006. Gonzalez is a full-time student at Cal State Northridge majoring in journalism with an emphasis on public relations, while holding a minor in political science.

   “I am compelled by Obama’s message of change and that is something that a lot of our volunteers believe in and it’s definitely a reflection of the people who come here,” he said. “These are people who obviously want to move forward with the state of their country, while addressing other social issues. That’s what Barack represents and that’s why I’m here.”

   Gonzalez is only 23-years-old, yet he is well embedded in the Democratic Party. He currently is the Chair of the 44th Assembly District Delegation of the L.A. County Democratic Party and an Executive Board Member for the California Democratic Party.

   Ralph Hurtado, the Co-Campaign Coordinator has been active in politics for a long time. He was formerly a political staffer on Capitol Hill, serving as a legislative assistant. Hurtado served as a special assistant to Diane Feinstein when she was Mayor of San Francisco. He also directed the McGovern primary and general election campaigns in Pasadena and was a delegate to the Miami National Democratic Convention in 1972.

   “I came out of retirement after six years because I wanted to become a part of history,” said Hurtado. “This campaign really does excite me and frankly excites a lot of people because we’ve only been open a very short time and we already have over 300 volunteers.”

   Elliot Cuite is the “Judy Boggs Memorial Intern”. The internship was created in memory of the former Executive Director of ACT and a field rep for Senator Jack Scott, she passed away six years ago. ACT is a non-partisan action group which over the years has supported campaigns for elected leaders serving the foothill communities in the California state Assembly and Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives.

   “I have a background in a lot of political events. I also have a technical background which gave me an advantage in my application process,” he said. “I did a lot of the headquarter set-up as the ‘resident techie'. If all goes well here I would like to pursue a career in political science and psychology.”

   One of the main pillars of headquarter fundraising is financed through merchandise sales. Rosa Maricich serves as the merchandise coordinator, making sure that the store is well-stocked with T-Shirts, buttons and bumper stickers.

   “People are buying any and all of the Obama stuff like hotcakes. All of the proceeds go towards keeping our doors open and our office afloat,” she said. “I’m only bringing in inventory that’s either locally made, or made in America.”

   Maricich is most excited about a new merchandising slogan that is catching on, much like the grass-roots volunteer campaigns around the country that have propelled Obama into the leader of his political party, which simply states, “Nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.”

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