campaigning

[Carolyn Branagan]

It was mighty cold this morning outside by the entrance ramp for exit 18. I was standing there holding a political sign and waving at the traffic. According to the Agency of Transportation, about 3000 cars use the entrance/exit ramp at exit 18 each morning, many from our legislative district of Franklin-1, Fairfax/Georgia. I saw many people from our district on their way to work and school.  
Of course folks from outside the district use it as well. This morning Ed from Fletcher (our friendly plummer) drove by, smiled and waved back at me. Made my day!

Rep. Carolyn Branagan

[rod anode]

pppsssssss, hey you spelled plumber wrong,,,,good to see you out there .you shouldnt have been alone though

[Carolyn Branagan]

my hands hadn't thawed out yet!

C.

[Margie]

May I ask when this started, candidates standing at the busiest intersections at rush hour? 

I have to say, as a commuter, I really don't like it.  I don't care who the candidates are...I've seen so many accidents in the making at some of these places.  I commute to Shelburne Road and the end of 189 just before 8 am is a headache on a good day.  Add dozens of campaign signs and a dozen campaigners, it's a nightmare!  And depending on the time, the traffic right where you were this morning is interesting.  I've been cut off more times than I care to say.  I would much prefer to have people focused on driving instead of gawking at who's standing waving signs.

Please don't take this as a comment against you, Carolyn.  This is a HUGE pet peeve of mine, and since you mentioned it, I thought I would voice my opinion about this practice. 

[David Shea]

Politicians waving signs at the side of busy streets make me think of homeless people holding signs begging for food or money. 

Pathetic....

[Carolyn Branagan]

Margie,

Your concern is a good one. What I want to do is make it so people know who I am, know what I look like. Then hopefully  they will feel comfortable enough to approach me if they have an issue with the state. The major part of my job as state  representative is to interface with my constituents and the state government. The fact is that I can't do my job if people don't feel comfortable enough to share with me their problems and thoughts regarding state government. So waving is one method to get people to know who I am. 

This is especially true for Fairfax. I grew up here in Georgia, and everyone knows me. But Fairfax has been tough. For 8 years I have attended the select board meetings, school board meetings andTown Meeting in Fairfax, but still there seem to be lots of people in Fairfax who don't know who I am. So what else can I do?  Mailings are expensive, though I have a couple of them planned for later. Many people don't like the automated phone calls so I'm not doing any of them this year. I have some newspaper ads ready to go out.  Door to door visits are an intrusion.

I hear what you are saying about the distraction and the last thing I want to do is cause  an accident. Don't worry....I don't take it personally. I want to be the best representative possible for this district. All suggestions are welcomed. 

Carolyn B.

[slpott]

Carolyn:
I think this site obviously shows how approachable you are and how much you care about Vermont and its people. I really respect you as a candidate. Good luck and thank you for all you do.

[rod anode]

canadate ? she`s a shoe in

[cedarman]

"shoe in" or not, it's great to see a candidate for public office make an honest effort to get out and meet those she or he represent.  Thank you for that effort.

When my work location had over 1000 employees, candidates used to stand on the sidewalk and great people on their way into work.  That doesn't happen as much now that we are below 400.

Since there are not huge employers in Georgia/Fairfax, maybe you could meet people getting their morning coffee at their favorite store location (if the owners are ok with that), at the pedestrian entrance/exit to sporting or community events, or maybe outside of churches on Sundays (oh, wait, would that constitute a state endorsement of religion -  Sorry for the soapbox deviation).

Good luck.