All four Democratic candidates for Wake County commission won in Tuesday night’s election, partially thanks the help of members of the NC State College Democrats who began volunteering for many of the commissioners’ campaigns in early May.
“At the beginning of the summer, Brian Fitzsimmons, vice chair of the Wake County Democratic Party, said he wanted an army of volunteers at voting day,” said Tyler Klund, a sophomore in history. “And that’s what we gave him.”
The student’s duties included contacting Democratic voters to gather volunteers, updating the Wake County Democrat website and organizing voter information at the precinct.
On Election Day, College Democrats provided transportation to and from voting sites to make up for Talley Student Center not being a voting site.
“We connected about 70 students with a ride to their voting site,” said Owen Webster, a freshman in mechanical engineering and economics. “We had a lot of people tell us that without our drivers, they would not have voted.”
In response to Talley Student Center not being chosen as a voting site this year, Ben Stockdale, a sophomore in political science and president of College Democrats, said it an effort of the Republican Party to get Democratic students not to vote.
“It’s definitely reduced student votes,” said Matt Jones, member of College Democrats and a sophomore in economics.
If students were to walk to the closest voting site from NC State, it would take approximately an hour, according to Christine Lamaire, a freshman in chemistry.
“If you make voting inconvenient, people are less likely to do it,” Lamaire said
The goal of the NC State College Democrats was to talk to as many voters in Wake County as possible, Webster said.
“Let’s begin to move Wake County forward,” said Sig Hutchinson, one of the newly elected county commissioners, in his first words to the public as commissioner.
The commissioners’ agenda includes improving public education, creating more practical public transportation options, and creating jobs in Wake County.
According to John Burns, another newly elected commissioner, these changes will be in the works starting today.
Education was a strong topic of discussion during the commissioner’s speeches at the election night party. Hutchinson wants to advance North Carolina’s public education to the national level.
“We need to make it so teachers do not have to make the choice between teaching kids at school and feeding their kids at home,” said Matt Calabria, a newly elected county commissioner.
Jessica Holmes, newly elected county commissioner, said she promises Wake County will see changes.
“We have talked the talk, and now it’s time to walk,” Holmes said.
