Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05
April 10, 2008 issue
Packed House at Obama Campaign HQ Grand Opening
Story by Kathleen McFadden
The Barack Obama campaign is taking North Carolina seriously. The presidential hopeful now has 18 campaign headquarters in the state, and the office in Boone opened last Thursday evening to a packed house.
The North Carolina primary is May 6, and at stake are the state’s Democratic delegates. A win in North Carolina could decide the Democratic Party presidential nomination.
From Asheville and Boone to Wilmington and New Bern, Obama’s field coordinators are signing up volunteers to conduct voter registration drives, to house out-of-town volunteers, to staff the campaign offices, to donate supplies, to make phone calls and to speak to groups about Obama’s candidacy.
Supporters said the Boone office at 920 West King Street, Suite B, at the corner of Straight Street, will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily and will serve five counties.
Boone Mayor Loretta Clawson spoke first at the grand opening. “I can’t believe this. This is absolutely wonderful,” Clawson said about the number of people present.
Clawson said she attended a meeting of the College Democrats at Appalachian a couple of months ago where in a straw poll, Hillary Clinton received two votes, John Edwards received two votes and Barack Obama received the rest of the votes cast by the 50 or so people present. Clawson cast one of the Clinton votes, she said, but the results of the poll caused her to start thinking. “I thought, ‘These students know something I don’t,’” Clawson said, so she began “listening, learning and reading.” As a result, she became an Obama supporter and signed on as a Mayor for Obama, joining mayors in Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh, Asheville and Cary, she said.
“Barack Obama can lead this country forward, not back,” Clawson said. “These kids caught on faster than I did. He speaks from the heart. Watauga County can make a difference. Obama hasn’t bypassed anyone. He’s doing grassroots, and grassroots is where we come from in this area.”
Obama Field Coordinator Ben Logan addressed the group next. “This is the group that’s going to help Obama win in Watauga County,” he said. “The North Carolina primary could be decisive. We need your help to register voters and push for early voting. Everyone’s going to have a role to play. This is a game of exceeding expectations. We thought we might have about 30 people here tonight, but I think I see 30 in each room.”
As of Monday, April 7, Public Policy Polling (publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com) reported that Obama was holding a consistent 18 to 21 point lead over Hillary Clinton in North Carolina.
Clinton currently has 10 campaign headquarters in the state. The closest to the High Country are in Asheville and Winston-Salem.
For info about the local efforts for Obama, call 336-529-8269 or 828-406-2408.