We Voted for Change!
Now we must hold our elected officials accountable. ADP organizers and leaders worked tirelessly this year, making sure our voices were heard on Election Day. We succeeded, collecting over 3,000 signatures and turning out 5,000 local voters committed to our community values. The power of our collective voice was heard and we WON CHANGE AT THE BALLOT BOX IN 2008!
Voter Story — Kirk Sanchez
Nineteen year old youth Leader Kirk Michael Sanchez from Springfield played an integral role in ADP's Voter Engagement Campaign leading up to this year's election. In addition to registering other young adults to vote, Kirk was a member of a team of youth leaders who aided in organizing the ADP Community Convention and GOTV rally. He is pictured here with fellow youth leader Ramzi Barron as they watch the pre–Convention Dance Competition.
After voting in his first election, Kirk gave us a few comments on what his vote meant to him. Here are his words:
"My name is Kirk Michael Sanchez, and I am an ADP youth leader. I would like to speak to you about my experience voting for the very first time. I feel proud having my voice heard and being able to make a difference, not only in my community but in everyone else's community at a nationwide level. I would like to see a government that not only works for me and my community but also everyone's community as a whole, not only for a select few. It is supposed to be a government by the people, so today we are giving the power back to the people."
Voter Story — Kellie Page
After voting with her mother and sister on the morning of November 4, Kellie Page wasn't ready for her day to be over. With her niece and nephew, Soriya and Sovann Noeun, Kellie went door-to-door throughout Greenfield Gardens, her neighborhood in Greenfield, Massachusetts. By 4:00pm, Kellie and her team of young ADP leaders had made contact with almost every tenant from the 202 unit property.
And her day was not over yet, with a little under four hours to go until the polls closed in Massachusetts, Kellie had more doors to knock and more calls to make. Kellie said that "it was an exciting way to be spending her day and engaging with her community." She added that, "Beginning with our GOTV rally last Tuesday, many members of the community learned more about the power of ADP and are voting today." Kellie is one member of a team of countless ADP leaders who helped turnout votes on November 4th.
Voter Story — Joseph Miller
Joseph Miller was not going to let anything stop him from voting on November4th. He did not even want to wait for the bus and decided to go the nearly three miles in his wheel chair. A member of the Alliance to Develop Power and resident of Greenfield Gardens, a tenant owned cooperative in rural western Massachusetts, Joe declared that it was time for a change! "We need a new administration that will point this country in the right direction," he stated. He added that we don't just need change, but we need "the right kind of change."
Voter Story — Ricardo Cerna
After thirty five years as a resident and ten years maneuvering through our broken immigration system, Ricardo finally became an American citizen this past spring. With this proud accomplishment, Ricardo was extremely excited to finally make his voice heard through the ballot box. Expand Ricardo's story to watch a short interview with him.
Interviewer (I): “Hello. What is your name?”
Ricardo Cerna (RC): “My name is Ricardo Alfaro Cerna. I have been living in the United States for thirty-five years and one of the goals in my life has been to become a citizen. Thanks to God, after thirty-five years I have achieved this and I am in Casa Obrera/ADP fighting so that things get better. We took registrations of 300 new voters to city hall and I am one of the new voters. I felt proud and I have already received the letter informing me of where I need to vote. I think that my dream has been perfect because the candidate needs a change and I am a person of change. We need to fight for this (the flag). Thus, in order to ensure that everything goes well, we are going to vote for change.
(I): “Well said. What are the specific changes you would like to see?”
(RC): The changes would be health care, education, and that the troops return. No more wars. The investments we put in war need to return to the United States and Latin America. This is one of the goals.
We executed a campaign in which we called 5,000 people so that they vote. We have been inviting people over the phone and we are achieving our goals. Hopefully all of these achievements will lead to result that we seek: a change.
