Dan Dunn

When I started this campaign, I knew better than to promise regular blog posts.  As expected, it’s been stinkin’ busy.  That said, I know some people are interested in the nuts-and-bolts of the campaign (I got good feedback on this post).  So here are some notes on the last week:

Thursday, 3/3

• My plan was to start the day by standing in front of Dunkin’ Donuts and say hello, but I cancelled and caught up on sleep instead.  That turned out to be a very good choice.
• At 10AM I met with the Arlington Advocate to answer questions for an upcoming article, then went to work.
• Before I left work, I made my last-minute edits to my entry in the League of Women Voters information booklet.
• I went to the budget hearing at Town Hall, then went home and answered emails.

Friday, 3/4

• A light day. Email in the morning, then work.
• In the evening I wrote a draft of my 5-minute video recording that ACMI was offering.  That proved a lot harder than I thought it would be, and I didn’t finish until 11PM.

Saturday, 3/5

• First, the catch-up from my cancelled Thursday plan.  I stood in front of Dunkin Donuts and introduced myself to the visiting patrons.  This was pretty fun and interesting.
• 10AM is the regular campaign meeting.  We talked about an upcoming mailing and made lots of edits to my 5-minute video speech.
• 2PM – taking photos for the upcoming mailer.
• 2:30PM – debate preparation with 3 volunteers.
• Make a few calls to potential supporters.
• Started practicing 5-minute speech, realized the editing session had made a number of inadvertent errors, and re-wrote parts of it.
• Went out that evening with friends and saw Murder by Death! (It’s a rock band, not nearly as offensive as it sounds, and was a great time.)

Sunday, 3/6

• Went to Panera at 10AM to meet someone interested in applying for work at HubSpot where I work.
• Practiced the 5-min speech.
• Worked on list of people for the mailer.
• Went to the League of Women Voters legislators’ brunch and talked to a number of voters.
• Went home, and sent in the text of my 5-min speech to ACMI for loading into the teleprompter.
• Went to Joe Curro‘s campaign kickoff party.  Met a number of voters.  Collected a few donations to my campaign.  Took more pictures for my mailer.  Helped move furniture when it was done.
• Went to Leba Heigham‘s campaign kickoff event.  Met a few voters.
• Went home.  Did a number of campaign emails.  Scheduled a couple campaign coffees and meetings.  Wrote donation thank-you notes. Updated the campaign Facebook page. Practiced 5-min speech.
• Where did my weekend go?  Went to bed.

Monday, 3/7

• No morning meetings.  Practiced 5-min speech.  Went to work.
• Officer meeting of my fraternity alumni group (Alpha Delta Phi at MIT)  in the evening.
• Went home, did some campaign emails.  Answered a lot of emails about signs that were blown away in the storm the night before.  Practiced 5-min speech.
• Sent Advocate a list of possible topics for the debate on Thursday.

Tuesday, 3/8

• Took a voter call in the morning.
• Worked from home.  Practiced speech.
• Went to ACMI.  After first run-through, the nice woman asked me how I thought it went.  I answered, “wooden.”  She seemed relieved that I realized how bad it was!  Second run was measurably better.  Cameras are hard for me – I prefer people.
• Went home and did some work.
• Met with the reporter from Arlington Patch and had a good interview and a long talk about Minuteman High School.
• Went home and did work, did some campaign emails, did some campaign phone calls.
• Listened to my company’s announcement of a huge investment from Sequoia, Google, and Salesforce.
• Went out and had picture taken with another volunteer for the mailer.
• Sent out a draft of text and pictures of the mailer to be put together.
• Signed up to be at Menotomy Beer and Wine for their Candidates’ Event on Saturday afternoon.

Wednesday, 3/9

• Went to Town Hall at 8AM for the 5-year planning committee meeting.
• Deposited some donation checks at the bank.
• Went to work.
• Went home, wrote opening and closing statements for Thursday’s debate.  Wrote up a list of talking points for the debate.
• Sent out an email with a budget update with an eye to how many people we can afford to send the mailer.
• Made a dozen calls to potential voters, asking for their support.
• Did more campaign emails.

Thursday, 3/10

• Met with a voter for coffee.
• Talked to a couple voters on the phone.
• Went to work, left work early.
• Practiced opening speech 12 times in a row – never got it right once!
• Went to debate at ACMI.  It went OK.  I need other people to see it and see what they think.
• Did campaign emails and a couple phone calls.  Updated website.
• Stayed up late writing this blog post!

I think that gives a decent flavor for the campaign and how I’m doing.  There’s lots of great voter contact, and lots more yet to be done.  Three weeks left!