I

t’s a dreary, rainy day in Virginia. A day to stay inside and read, maybe bake a batch of cookies. But inside the busy Farris for Lieutenant Governor headquarters, there’s no time for relaxation.

The campaign office is in a constant state of colorful, friendly clutter. Articles, signs, photographs, bumper stickers and political cartoons plaster the walls of every room, even the bathroom. Color-coded maps of Virginia are tacked to the wall by the dozens. People are darting in and out of each room, typing this, copying that, and trying to get through to those reporters.

“Yes, you are doing a story on Mike Farris tonight on the 6:00 o’clock news? Yes. I’d really like to have him talk to you about that.” Christy Farris, my 18-year old sister, hangs up the phone and rushes into another room to send a fax. “Things are really starting to heat up around here,” she says over her shoulder. As deputy press secretary, Christy has many duties to perform. She keeps an eye on the news, makes sure all the newspapers in the state are “covered”, schedules press events, and sends two to three press releases a week.

Becky Gicker, the office receptionist, is typing diligently in a room filled with machines - three computers, a fax machine, two printers, and a copy machine. Becky does lots of data entry besides working the phones and doing mailings.

The phone rings for the umpteenth time this morning. “Farris for lieutenant Governor, may I help you?” asks Cathy Spicer, one of the several volunteers who work at the

office. These volunteers basically perform any needed duty, sacrificing their free time, non-free time, sleeping time, and eating time for the campaign.

A few feet away, Debbie Stevenson is in the middle of a phone conversation. “I don’t have any details about that - you know more than me!” Debbie finally lets the phone drop into the receiver and says with a sigh of relief, “Well, that was a godsend.” She has learned where she can get a hold of the candidate, Mike Farris, that afternoon. Debbie, as the Office Manager, Scheduler, and Office Mother, does everything from handling the finances and mail to scheduling events and working with the political coordinators.

There are four political coordinators working for the Farris campaign -Tom Campbell, Dimitri Kesari, and Nancy Brown, who work in the office, and Kathy Hayden, who lives farther away. Each has a section of the state for which they are responsible. Their important jobs involve setting up and working with individual organizers in each county along with scheduling events for Mike when he visits their area.

“Christy!” shouts Dimitri, one of the political coordinators. “What are you making me for lunch?”

“MAKING you for LUNCH?! !“ “Yes,” Dimitri calmly replies.

“Deputy press secretaries DON’T make lunch.”

The green door in the front hallway opens and slams. In walks Doug Domenech wearing a wet raincoat; he’s on the phone the moment he walks in the door. “Great. Okay, alright. Sounds great.”

Hanging up, Doug calls everyone into his office to watch the newest version of a promotional video for the campaign designed to be purchased by volunteers to show to neighbors and friends. As the video comes to a close and the address and phone number of the campaign office flash on the screen, Debbie casually remarks, “That’s the wrong zip code.” Doug pauses mid-Wheat Thin and turns pale. “Just kidding!” she says. Debbie giggles as Doug crashes his forehead into the wall with relief.

Doug is the campaign manager and ultimately is responsible for everything that goes on at the headquarters. He manages all operations and follows through on decisions that have been made. He is a member of what he calls the “Senior Campaign Team” which also includes Mike Farris, the candidate, Mike Rothfeld, the campaign consultant, and Rebecca Hagelin, the press secretary. Doug sits in a small office with a white board covering the back wall. Countless charts and reminders are scrawled all over it in green and blue ink. “About 20 to 30 percent of my time is spent doing Mike’s schedule with Debbie,” Doug is saying. “The key is using Mike so that we don’t waste any of his precious time.”

Early evening finds Doug, Debbie, and Christy doing just that - ironing out Dad’s hectic schedule. Meetings, fund raisers, and debates are planned, canceled, and planned again. “Whatever Don Beyer goes to, we’ll be there,” Doug says. “But the Democrats won’t commit to anything,” Debbie points out. Another electronic warble interrupts the commotion.

“Farris for Lieutenant Governor.”

F

ar from the mad rush of the campaign headquarters Mike Farris is traveling the roads of Virginia in a Ford Explorer. This is the heart of the campaign: the candidate face to face with the people of his state. Usually Josh Carden, an 18-year old volunteer from Texas, drives; but today Christy is at the wheel. [Yeah, it’s a small world. See Josh’s article on Siblings -page 10] Bright, early morning rural scenes glide by us. Dad is in the passenger seat typing on a lap-top computer. I’m sitting in the back with my sister Katie who is curled up on a pillow.

After several hours of driving, we stop briefly at a pastors’ meeting to speak. We pause at a car wash raising money for a school chorus, and Dad uses the opportunity to pass out brochures. For lunch we visit Hardee’s, the home of dad’s favorite peach shakes. Afterwards we continue heading south to the Franklin County Fair.

At the fair a Republican booth is already set up. Dad shakes hands, passes out literature, and competes in a good, old-fashioned, watermelon-eating contest. I’m pretty sure dad’s showing in the watermelon eating contest won over most of the folks in Franklin.

The rest of the weekend road trip is rounded off by a fund raiser in Virginia Beach, a Pentecostal church service in Norfolk, a potluck lunch, and a “Conservative Celebration” where the main events were a speech by Dad and a human lettering to spell “AX THE TAX” on the side of a hill. It’s an activity packed weekend, but it’s just one weekend in the countdown to November 2.

Many people look at the political process as an election that takes place one day out of the year, but it’s so much more than that. It’s the tireless work of hundreds of behind-the-scenes volunteers. It’s late hours and long car drives. It’s a group of people who believe in something so much they’re willing to fight to the end, till the last vote is in. And in the Virginia race for Lieutenant Governor it’s my dad, Mike Farris, and our family standing right behind him. Until next time, this is Jayme Farris from the campaign trail.

COUNTDOWN

This is it, friends. The next issue of N.A. will bring news of either victory or defeat for Michael Farris in his run for Lieutenant Gov. As we go to press, Mike is only 5 points behind his opponent in the polls. In this final stretch the need for God’s help is even more acute. Will you commit to prayer for Mike and his family? And if it is possible, please send financial support to: Mike Farris for Lieutenant Governor, P.O. Box 479, Hamilton, VA 22068. If a man of Mike Farris’s character and strong conservative values can win in Virginia, it will send a message to the entire country and give hope to others with like convictions. Pray knowing this race is in God’s hands; give as if it were in yours. - Editor