"They want something with her name on it" -- An Interview with Athens County Republican Party Chairman Pete Couladis

Exactly two weeks ago on Friday, August 29, 2008 the Athens County Republican Campaign Headquarters opened on 28 South Court Street. The office is open Monday to Friday 10AM to 6PM. Between eight to ten volunteers make up the staff of the headquarters with more expected to come in to work the phones soon.

Pete Couladis is the Chairman of the Athens County Republicans and in this interview of September 12, 2008 he talked to me about the local Sarah Palin effect, the upcoming events and goals of the campaign.

Athens County Republican Party Campaign Headquarters at 28 Court Street, right across the CVS store.

Stine Eckert: What are your goals for this election season?
Pete Couladis: We have a headquarters open, people come in and take signs and literature and we have a place for the Republican candidates to meet. We have some receptions here and distribute materials, yard signs, bumper sticker, buttons.

S.E.: How does a typical day at the campaign look like?
P.C.: Well, lots of people coming in wanting yard signs particularly with Sarah Palin’s name on it and that’s very encouraging. But people want to register to vote, change their residency, get an absentee ballot application. They may have some questions about a candidate. So we try to help them as much as we can.

S.E.: How many people come in every day approximately?
P.C.: We can have up to hundred, up to two hundred people coming in.

S.E.: Do you see certain groups coming in, students, and women?
P.C.: Mostly students, lots of women. There are some town’s people coming in occasionally. But mostly students.

S.E.: Do the women come because of the Sarah Palin effect?
P.C.: Yes, and they say that.

S.E.: What do they say?
P.C.: They want something with her name on it, a yard sign. Some of them take a McCain sign but many of them are waiting for the McCain-Palin signs, which are coming next week.

S.E.: What is the greatest challenge for the Republican campaign in Athens county and Athens city?
P.C.: To communicate with our base voters, to get the information to them, the yard signs and bumper stickers. And to be available for people who come in and have questions about voting here, where to vote, how they can register, how they can get an absentee ballot, what the deadline is. Basically providing the information to as many people as we can.

Everywhere in the headquarters yard signs are stacked. Most sought after are signs saying Palin or McCain-Palin, which will come in next week.

S.E.: Do you see an effect of the federal campaign on your local campaign?
P.C.: Yes. It’s one of these things; you suffer with the ups and downs of a national situation. If you have an unpopular candidate that tends to dampen the turnout, it could hurt your local candidates. The opposite is true as well if you have a popular candidate and we are seeing that with Governor Palin.

People are really interested in her, they want to read more about her, they want to hear things about her and they are looking for materials. It’s historic, in my view she’s going to be the first female vice president of the United States and possibly could be running for president in four years. People are looking for that material and they are probably will be holding on to it after the election. I bet they will be holding on to these. People are interested.

The national situation does have an impact. You still try to get your supporters as a local candidate to come out. But people tend to vote in larger numbers for presidential elections as they do for local elections.

Inside the Headquarters.

S.E.: Do you have a target number for how many people you would like to vote Republican in this election?
P.C.: No, we’re going to get our Republican voters out and let them know who the local candidates are. And then also the candidates do their own work and appeal to the other voters. And there is a lot of crossover voting as well.

S.E.: What do you mean by that?
P.C.: People who are registered Democrat who are going to vote for a Republican candidate.

S.E.: What events do you have planned throughout the campaign?
P.C.: We will have evenings here where candidates have receptions and people can come in and meet and socialize with them. We have a dinner next week, that’s our annual dinner. And we may have some surrogate candidates; surrogate people come in who represent the McCain-Palin ticket that will have receptions here. We have a gentleman in Lancaster, Ohio who was a POW with John McCain in Hanoi and he’s going to come down here next week. He will be back at the end of September as well.

S.E.: Where can people find a detailed schedule of your events?
P.C.: We have a website: athenscountyrepublicans.org and they can look there. We have a schedule of events.

S.E.: Is there anything you would like to add?
P.C.: No. It’s an exciting time in this country and it usually is for presidential elections. It’s historic regardless of who wins. I think people are starting right now to pay attention. During the summer the activists are the ones out there working now people are realizing October 6 is the deadline to register to vote and people are starting to pay attention. The yard signs are going out, the debates are being planned and talked about.

S.E.: Thank you very much.
P.C.: Thank you.