Published Thursday, August 21, 2008
Obama campaign to open local headquarters Saturday
The Times-Herald
Barack Obama is running for president, and the Illinois senator has a campaign headquarters in Newnan.
Volunteers were busy this week getting ready for the official opening of the local headquarters, which is scheduled for Saturday at noon. Stephen Camp, Democratic candidate for the U. S. House seat currently held by Lynn Westmoreland, is scheduled to speak.
The headquarters is located at 25 E. Broad St. in the former Roscoe Jenkins Funeral Home building. After the opening, the campaign headquarters will be open Monday-Saturday from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. and Sundays from 2-9 p.m.
People interested in volunteering may call 404-840-0248 o4 404-593-6224.
The cadre of volunteers working to get ready for Saturday includes people of all ages, black and white from both Coweta County and neighboring Fayette. One busy afternoon, Helen Sinclair directed volunteers as they gathered materials to make posters for Saturday's event.
Sinclair, who is from New York City, is one of two people from outside the local area working with the Coweta push for Obama. The other is an Alpharetta resident who got involved with the Obama campaign while attending the University of Chicago.
Coweta resident Monroe DeVos is going to be heading day-to-day operations at the campaign headquarters. He said he is ready to "campaign for a candidate who we believe will change the future of our country."
DeVos is motivated partly because of concerns about the war in Iraq. A military veteran, he comes from a family where military service is a tradition. His father was wounded in Korea, and two of his brothers have also seen military service.
"I'm doing this for the families of those military personnel today," he said. "I'm doing this for those families -- those mothers who have to raise their children alone."
Richmond Aggrey of Peachtree City also has concerns about the war. He said he graduated from McIntosh High School in 2002 and saw some friends head off to military service and come back with problems.
"The end of the war is absolutely a huge thing for me," Aggrey said. He said he also is concerned about the future of Social Security and about "things like climate change."
Aggrey pointed to data that indicates the polar ice caps are melting and said America's government needs to address such problems. "We have these issues. It's not a fairy tale. You have something to aim at," he said.
Aggrey referred to Obama's theme of change. "I'm surprised -- and not surprised -- that people aren't ready for that change," he said.
Newnan resident Matthew Bailey Jr. said Obama's interest in education is a plus for him. Bailey said he believes Obama offers the best plan "for all people to get a better education and a higher education."
Bailey said he believes an Obama administration would "revamp that whole law," referring to the No Child Left Behind Act. "The intention was good. It just wasn't well thought out," he said.
Bailey also said he comes to the campaign with a reflection on the words of the Bible that he says apply to Obama's candidacy: "There's always hope for something better."
Obama "is bringing us hope," Bailey said. "He's giving us hope that there is something better."
DeVos voiced concerns about the slow response of the government to help people in New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrina and about the current economic situation. DeVos himself is between jobs and reflected on the high cost of insurance. While he can afford it, he is aware most people between jobs do not have those resources.
Registering people to vote is a major focus of local Obama campaign efforts, like the one in Newnan. "It's not about Republicans. It's not about Democrats. It about human beings and what we can do at every level," Bailey reflected.
"We want people to vote. We want people to think," said Bailey, who added he wants people to register and cast their ballots "regardless of who they vote for."