“Have thick skin and a short memory.”

Season 1 Episode 7 — November 2, 2024

This episode is supported by Pacific Mercantile Company.

Alyssa and her campaign staff give me a behind-the-scenes look into all the ways they’re reaching out to voters. I go canvassing for the first time, connect with young people who dedicate their weekends volunteering for Alyssa’s campaign, and reflect on what I’ve learned participating in local politics. I also become enthralled by the mail-in ballot system in Colorado.

Featured Guests

Alyssa Nilemo

Meg Furlow

Iris Pixler

Paula Smith

References

“Colorado House District 44: Republican Hartsook and Democratic opponent Nilemo talk housing, crime, presidential preference” by Iris Pixler — coloradopolitics.com/elections/2024/colorado-house-district-44-election

Colorado TRACER — tracer.sos.colorado.gov

An Evening With The Douglas County Democrats & Senator John Hickenlooper — youtube.com

Transcript

This episode of Middleweight is supported by Pacific Mercantile Company. For 80 years, Pacific has provided essential goods and services for Coloradans. Pacific Mercantile Company: Finest Asian Foods and Gifts.

Alyssa Nilemo: I’m opening it. I’m tearing the envelope.

I’ve been in Colorado for almost three months now, and Alyssa occasionally asks me what my favorite things have been about her home state. I say this unironically. The mail-in ballot system might be the coolest part of Colorado.

Alyssa Nilemo: And we got first in order, which is randomly decided. But the psychology of apparently how many people will just vote for whatever name is first also still exists to this day. So who knows how many votes I get simply because I got first.

In addition to in-person voting options, every registered voter in Colorado receives a ballot from the Secretary of State starting a few weeks before the election. Voters have a window of time to mail in their ballots from home, or they can submit their ballot in designated drop-off locations in their area before or on Election Day. There’s also a ballot tracking system called BallotTrax where you can sign up for text alerts to see when your ballot was received and counted. I’ve requested an absentee ballot from Texas before, but I was fascinated to watch Alyssa experience this robust mail-in ballot process.

Alyssa Nilemo: Well, for presidential, we’ve got Kamala and Tim Walz. We live in Congressional District 4. So that is the one with Representative Boebert on it. And then Trisha Calvarese is the Democrat. And then state offices. State Board of Education is Krista Holtzmann, who has been amazing on our campus, too, and has done launches with us. And I’m a major supporter. She also used to be a Douglas County school board member. So I have immense respect for her. Regent of the University of Colorado at large. The Republican is Eric Rinard. And the Democratic nominee is Elliott Hood. This one actually matters kind of a lot to me because—my current job—we have to interact with CU. And so what the regents decide and happens actually impacts my job. So people should vote down ballot. State Senate District 2. The Democratic nominee is Jennifer Brady. Right under that is State Representative District 44, which has myself, Alyssa Nilemo, and then Representative Hartsook. And then under that, we’ve got district attorney for the 23rd Judicial District with the Democratic nominee of Karen Breslin. And then also we vote here for RTD based on district. And Julien Bouquet, who’s running in that, is also a Parker resident. And fortunately for you all, this goes on for four and a half additional rows because this is a giant ballot this year that will probably take me 45 minutes to make sure I feel like I filled it out correctly and I have all the propositions and ballot measures right.

Basically Colorado makes it as easy as possible for voters to vote. I’ve mostly voted in person, so being able to sit down with your ballot and do your research in the comfort of your own home sounds nice. This comes in handy especially when there’s a long list of ballot issues.

Alyssa Nilemo: I think the exciting ones that we need to talk about are probably that on the Colorado ballot this year, we can constitutionalize our right to access to reproductive healthcare and abortion care. We also have a ballot measure here in Douglas County, which is 5A, which is a bond for our schools that we desperately need. So I hope people are flipping over their ballots to vote on the local issues because you’ll feel those before you feel anything else.

I arrived in Colorado in early August, and based on what I’ve seen, Alyssa’s campaign has been working nonstop. It’s now less than a week until the election, and highlighting the stories of volunteers I’ve met throughout my time here, I update you on what’s been going on. Alyssa Nilemo is a fourth-generation Coloradan running for the Colorado House of Representatives District 44. By narrating her story, I reflect on my own civic duty as an American citizen.

Imagine a physics classroom demo on space-time. A heavy object is placed at the center of a stretched-out bedsheet, and as marbles roll across the warped fabric, they follow circular paths around the weight in the middle. What if every part of ourselves was one of these middleweights that attract other bodies in the universe toward us? Welcome to Middleweight, a podcast about the interlacing connections that create communities and cultures. My name is Toshiki Nakashige. This is District 44, Episode 7: “Have thick skin and a short memory.”

When we agreed that I produce a podcast about her, Alyssa gave me access to the behind-the-scenes action that takes place in a first-time candidate's campaign. Running for office, of course, involves fundraising and creating a budget for the ways she planned to get her name out to voters. But a lot of the work that happens is dedicated to recruiting a team of volunteers, much of which begins months before the election season really ramps up. One of the first people I met working on Alyssa’s campaign was Meg Furlow.

Meg Furlow: My name is Meg Furlow. I am the outreach coordinator for Alyssa’s campaign.

Meg moved to Douglas County with her family in 2021. After learning about the extremist views that were affecting the public schools, she started volunteering for the school board campaigns last year. Her involvement in local politics is personal for her.

Meg Furlow: Well, I have a toddler. He’s not quite in school yet, but he will be attending our public schools. So I have a vested interest in the quality education that he gets. And also as a member of the LGBTQIA community, I want our schools to be safe and welcoming and for him to feel like he belongs there.

Meg met Alyssa while canvassing last fall. By then, Alyssa had announced her candidacy for the 2024 State House race. 

Meg Furlow: She showed up to one of our canvassing events for school board, and I met her just as a volunteer. And when we were going around and introducing ourselves to other volunteers, she spoke about running for HD44. And the way she spoke, it was really motivating and inspiring. And so I got to know her more as a volunteer and then went to some house parties and decided that I really wanted to work for her campaign.

Inspired by Alyssa’s message, Meg is now a core part of the team, organizing volunteers and also helping run some of the social media accounts. Meg says that she wouldn’t be this involved if she didn’t really believe in the candidate. The first few weeks in August that I spent in Parker, the political events I attended were mostly geared toward recruiting volunteers to write postcards, to text bank, and to canvass. Canvassing, or door knocking, is the act of persuading voters to support a cause or candidate. Starting in September, the next step was to mobilize these volunteers, and the campaign has been running events every weekend until the election to go canvassing around different neighborhoods. To really understand Alyssa’s story, I felt that I needed to experience canvassing at least once. As part of her outreach coordinator duties, Meg was responsible for training new canvassers, and at the first canvassing event in September, I was there taking notes.

Meg Furlow: Well, hi, everybody! Thank you for coming for our first canvassing event. I’m really excited to get out there in the community and get Alyssa’s name out.

Meg is an experienced door knocker. But as a woman and a member of the LGBTQ community, she knows that knocking on a stranger’s door can be intimidating, especially in an area like House District 44. Meg’s presentation acknowledged these barriers but also highlighted why the campaign does it.

Meg Furlow: So the reason we canvass is to raise awareness about our amazing candidate, Alyssa. Every time somebody in the community hears her name, that’s a touch. And the more they hear her name, they’ll remember it when they receive their ballot and go to vote. And then we also want to show the community that Alyssa has a strong volunteer backing. So you’ll want to make sure you have comfortable walking shoes, a hat, sunscreen, a fully charged phone because we’re going to be using MiniVAN.

MiniVAN is an app that some campaigns use to identify which voters to reach out to. Using this app, each canvasser is given a turf, or list of houses, to go to.

Meg Furlow: Water, snacks, and then Alyssa’s lit.

Lit is short for literature, and in Alyssa’s case, it’s a glossy half-page flyer with her name, some bullet points describing issues, a QR code that links to the campaign website, and of course, a confident yet friendly photo of Alyssa with her arms crossed.

Meg Furlow: We are not solicitors, so if there is a “no soliciting” sign on the door, you are able to knock.

I didn’t really know the difference before, but “soliciting” in the “no solicitors” context implies that the person knocking on the door is trying to sell a commercial product. Political canvassing, on the other hand, is protected by the First Amendment. Although the exact policies may differ depending on the area, political canvassing is not restricted by “no soliciting” signs in Douglas County. Homeowners might not really know the difference and get mad at a canvasser. And some signs may explicitly say “no politics.” Generally speaking, Alyssa’s campaign instructs volunteers to use their own discretion, and if there’s hesitation, be courteous and cautious and don’t do anything you’re uncomfortable with. Simply leaving lit on the doorstep is still helpful, saving the campaign the cost of postage. When a volunteer does get the chance to interact with a voter face to face, there are important points to remember.

Meg Furlow: Be friendly and positive. Be familiar with her priorities that are on her lit. Have thick skin and a short memory. Not everybody is happy to have somebody at their door, but just move on and don’t take it too personal.

Unfortunately, I have thin skin and a long memory, so even though I’m extroverted, the idea of canvassing sounded daunting. For first time canvassers, the campaign recommends pairing up with someone who has experience. So that day, after the training and volunteers were assigned turfs, I followed Meg.

Meg Furlow: Hi, we’re out canvassing for Alyssa Nilemo. She’s running for House District 44 to put people before politics. We’re going to leave some information on your doorstep. Oh yeah, under the pot.

The majority of the houses we approached had cameras on their doorbells, so when no one answered the door, we were often talking to those doorbells. Sometimes the residents would be outside their house, going to their car or gardening in their front yard, which gave us the opportunity to introduce ourselves.

Meg Furlow: OK, and then, down that way and down that street. This is our next one. Hi!

Voter: Hello.

Meg Furlow: We’re out canvassing for Alyssa Nilemo today.

Voter: Sorry?

Meg Furlow: We’re out canvassing for Alyssa Nilemo. She’s running for House District 44 to put people before politics.

Voter: OK.

Meg Furlow: You can look on her website.

Voter: I’ll look her up.

Meg Furlow: But she’s all about good governance, protecting public education, small business.

Voter: OK.

Toshiki Nakashige: Yeah.

Voter: I’ll look her up! Thank you.

Meg Furlow: Thank you!

Toshiki Nakashige: Thank you so much.

If we did see someone in their driveway or get them to open the door, voters typically didn’t know who was running in their district’s State House race, which I guess means that we were doing our job. I was originally only planning to go canvassing a couple times, but I ended up canvassing about six times throughout September and October. Every weekend that I did it, I learned something new. I also met a lot of dedicated volunteers.

Iris Pixler: My name is Iris Pixler. I’m 19 years old. I’m currently a sophomore at Colorado College, and I graduated from Legend High School in 2023.

Iris Pixler goes to college in Colorado Springs, but she’s frequently home in Parker over the weekends to canvass for Alyssa. Iris met Alyssa earlier this year in June.

Iris Pixler: We have like a town fair, it’s called Parker Days. It was kind of right at the beginning of summer. I was there with my boyfriend just like walking around, looking at all the booths, and there was Douglas County Democrats. So I went up to the booth to kind of talk to them, and thank them for being there. And I think, like, their initial reaction, everyone at the booth was, like, kind of surprised, like, not a lot of young people have been stopping. Like, “Why do you choose to stop at a political booth?” And I was like talking about how I’m majoring in political science and how it’s always something I've been really passionate about. And then I kind of started chatting with Alyssa, and she told me about how she was running for state house, and she just seemed super down to earth. And I could tell from that first interaction how kind she was and how she was really doing this for the right reason. She was doing it because she cares about Parker, and she cares about the people who live here. And telling her kind of about my background, she was like, “Well, I’d love if you would come help with the campaign.” And she later told me she didn’t really expect that I would actually follow up or anything. But I ended up going to an ice cream social a couple of days later. I saw her speak for the first time, and that was incredible. And I guess I wanted to spend my summer doing something meaningful, especially for a place that means so much to me. So I was really excited to get involved.

Iris was born in Denver, and her family moved to Parker when she was two years old. She grew up in Parker, and the community in Douglas County matters to her. She went through the public school system, and her mom and siblings live here. Throughout the summer, Iris got involved with the campaign, and before the academic year started, she and her mom Donna hosted a political house party for Alyssa, inviting their neighbors and friends to their home and encouraging them to get involved. That’s actually where I first met her, and we kept in touch. Eventually, I asked Iris if she’d be willing to speak with me. I could feel her dedication, and I was curious about how she became so passionate about politics at a young age. A big influence in her interest in politics came from her mom.

Iris Pixler: Like from a young age, like talking to me about politics and not in a way, it was never a way where she was like trying to force her ideas on me, but like explaining the political parties and explaining like, I don’t know, like the current political climate and the issues and kind of letting me develop my own ideas around that.

Iris was always excited to participate in the political process, and this year will be the first presidential election that she’s eligible to vote in. She registered as a Democrat as soon as she could. As part of the state’s efforts to encourage early civic engagement among young people, in Colorado, 16-year-olds are able to pre-register to vote, and they become automatically registered when they turn 18. Iris explained to me that, when she was in high school, she started to become aware of some of the issues going on with the Douglas County School Board. The superintendent was illegally fired in February 2022, during Iris’ junior year in high school. And she remembers witnessing the tension among teachers, staff, school administrators, and parents. She was also exposed to local politics through car painting, which was a new concept to me. 

Iris Pixler: So, I’m trying to think the best way to explain this to someone who hasn’t like grown up seeing it, but like, you know, there’s like that car chalk and people will like on the back of their windshield, they’ll kind of just write out, like, the candidates they’re voting for. And then maybe like the slogan that the candidates are running with. So when you’re driving behind that car, you can like see it super visible. And then they’d have like car painting events. I remember it was kind of big, like when Corey Wise had been fired, like kind of in that protest movement, car painting during that. And so it’s kind of something I’ve always seen, especially for local elections and especially for school board.

Iris’ early interest in politics motivated her to choose political science as her major at Colorado College, but she knows that not all of her peers are as politically inclined as she is. 

Iris Pixler: I think in general, the people I’m surrounded with are pretty politically engaged because those are kind of like the circles I look for. But I think in general, people in my age group are kind of feeling like disillusioned with politics today. I think it’s like easy to feel like your voice doesn’t really have an impact. Like things with like the Electoral College and, like, living in a state that is consistently voting blue. Like I think since the federal elections are so much more publicized, people kind of feel like those are the only ones that matter. And since they feel like their vote doesn’t really do a lot on the federal level, they kind of sometimes maybe don’t vote or don’t like, I don’t know, feel excited about it or feel motivated to do it.

Younger voters historically have the lowest turnout, and in a state like Colorado that will reliably vote one way for the presidential election, I can understand why that might be the case. I remember feeling this way when I was younger. But Iris has recently learned how much voting matters when it comes to local elections.

Iris Pixler: I think a lot of people in my age probably do follow federal politics. Like with this being a presidential election year, I think a lot of people are getting more excited about that. But I think no one knows who, like, their state representative is. And I don’t think I would have known unless I met Alyssa. But I think like local politics are so important and having someone from Parker go to the state house to like represent us and what we need is really important. But I think it kind of gets pushed aside.

Besides a handful of governors, I don’t think I can name a single elected official who has represented me in a state-level office in all the places I’ve lived. Even when it comes to federal-level politics though, Iris acknowledges why many of her peers are discouraged.

Iris Pixler: I do think it’s kind of like, if I can’t have a candidate who supports everything I support, then like, I don’t want to support them, kind of that mentality. And also like, there are so many problems with the system. What’s the point in trying to fix any of them? Because there’s no way we can get to, like, the system that I envision being the best for everyone.

I was impressed with Iris’ understanding of voter behavior. There often just aren’t enough options to address the myriad of issues that matter to voters. One particular set of issues that Iris is passionate about includes gender inclusivity in schools and resources for students with diverse learning needs.

Iris Pixler: I’m the oldest, I have two younger siblings. My sister is 17. She came out as trans three or four years ago. And my family was super supportive, like, right from the get-go. But also a little nervous because like that kind of created a whole new set of obstacles for her in a world where there are already so many obstacles. She’s on the autism spectrum. And I think that’s been like an additional kind of piece to navigate. From the beginning, she was really nervous about going to public schools in Douglas County and kind of presenting as a trans woman. So she decided she wanted to do online school because she didn’t feel safe kind of being in that space. And I wish I could tell her she would be safe, but I don’t know if that’s true.

Iris feels fortunate that her family was able to provide the resources for her sister to earn an education in an environment that was more appropriate for her. But as a former student and a concerned older sister, what the public schools in Douglas County are going through feels personal for her.

Iris Pixler: Yeah, I feel like it’s already hard enough to kind of feel that disconnect with your gender and your physical presence. But now there’s, like, the additional obstacle of, like, there are lots of people in the world around you who won’t respect you. And like, there are reasons to be afraid. And she’s my baby sister. And I want her to have, like, the high school experience I did like dances and hanging out with friends and like all those things that, to me, made high school like a fun time. I think to her make it kind of a scary time.

Whenever I see her at events, Iris is always a bright smile whose energy inspires me. Iris earned a Boettcher Scholarship, which covers her full tuition at Colorado College. She also wrote an article that was published in Colorado Politics about the House District 44 race, interviewing both Representative Anthony Hartsook and Alyssa Nilemo. Despite the infighting in the Douglas County School Board that’s been making national news, I think Iris’ success as a young college student is a reminder that there are positive things happening in the public school system here.

Toshiki Nakashige: Cool. All right. Yeah. Thank you so much.

Iris Pixler: Of course.

Iris Pixler is registered to vote in Parker, and for many reasons, I think this election is particularly special for her. I asked her and her mom to send me a voice memo opening their mail-in ballots.

Donna Pixler: All right, our ballots have arrived. Are you ready to open?

Iris Pixler: Yes.

Donna Pixler: Let’s do this.

Iris Pixler: OK, three, two, one.

Donna Pixler: This is a thick ballot.

Iris Pixler: Yeah, I can already feel it through the envelope.

Donna Pixler: Oh my gosh, this is your first presidential election that you’ve been able to vote in, right?

Iris Pixler: It is. That’s really exciting.

Donna Pixler: Oh my gosh. And Kamala’s number one on the ballot. Let’s look who we have. Trisha Calvarese, for sure.

Iris Pixler: Yep.

Donna Pixler: Krista Holzmann, Elliot Hood, Jennifer Brady.

Iris Pixler: Wow.

Donna Pixler: And Alyssa Nilemo.

Iris Pixler: That’s amazing. I’ve never known someone on a ballot before.

Donna Pixler: I haven’t either. I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone personally on a ballot.

Iris Pixler: That is so cool.

Donna Pixler: Oh, I’m so excited about her.

Iris Pixler: Wow, this is huge.

Donna Pixler: Yes.

Iris Pixler: I definitely have to do some more research.

Donna Pixler: Yeah, need to do a little more research, but we probably have about half.

Iris Pixler: I recognize, especially some of the propositions.

Donna Pixler: Yes, on 5A for sure.

Iris Pixler: I’ve been learning about Proposition 131 Ranked Choice Voting in school, and I’m really excited about that too.

Donna Pixler: I am too.

Iris Pixler: This is awesome. I’m so excited to vote together.

Donna Pixler: Let’s do this.

Iris Pixler: Go Alyssa!

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Realtor: Hi!

Toshiki Nakashige: Oh, hi! My name is Toshiki. I’m canvassing—

Realtor: I don’t live in Parker. I’m the realtor.

Toshiki Nakashige: Oh, OK. So no one lives here right now?

Realtor: No one lives here right now.

Toshiki Nakashige: Oh, thank you so much.

Realtor: Have a great day.

Toshiki Nakashige: Thank you.

MiniVAN uses pretty sophisticated algorithms to sort through which doors would optimize your candidate’s reach, but I learned that, occasionally, the app just isn’t updated with the most recent voter information. Canvassing can be a bummer sometimes, but it was motivating to see so many volunteers show up to each of these Saturday morning events. Most volunteers I’ve met have been parents, retirees, generally people I perceived to be older than me. But I noticed that there was also a group of high school students who had attended multiple events. When I met them for the first time, I assumed that they were there for volunteer hours. I introduced myself and told them about the podcast. But when I saw them at another event, I followed up with two of the students and asked, with their parents permission, if they’d be willing to be interviewed by me. As I was pulling up to meet them, I saw a car in the driveway with all the Democratic candidates listed on the rear windshield. Car painting, I thought.

James: My name is James.

Kelly: Hi, my name is Kelly. I’m 17, but I’ll be 18 in like two days.

When I interviewed James and Kelly, they were both 17, but Kelly, having turned 18 since I interviewed her, is now eligible to vote in this general election. My assumption that these high school students were only at Alyssa’s canvassing event to get volunteer hours was astronomically wrong. They’re passionate about getting involved in the political process, and over the past few years, they’ve been involved in various get out the vote activities for Democratic candidates representing Douglas County. James and Kelly don’t actually live in House District 44, but they understand the importance of helping a first-time candidate like Alyssa.

James: Name recognition in Douglas County is the name of the game to put it in simple terms. And it’s really a grassroots effort of people getting out, door knocking, dropping literature, phone banking, and being involved in a campaign in a way that makes sure that their name gets out there. And honestly, it’s just kind of fun being out. And like supporting a cause, it makes it seem worth it. And it makes it seem like you’re doing something to help your community. And that’s the main thing for me is when I canvass is making sure that my voice is getting heard by getting someone elected that shares similar values to me.

I was barely aware of what was going on when I first voted, so I was impressed by how early James and Kelly started educating themselves about politics.

James: So I was diagnosed with diabetes at 10 years old. And from then on, it’s just been a really big focus for me to give, like for people to have access to healthcare.

James became interested in politics because of healthcare.

James: So when Bernie Sanders was proposing the medical Medicare for all plan, it sounded really good to have, you know, everyone in the country insured and have access to health care. And so that’s when I started to get involved and look up topics and become aware of politics, especially during covid. When we were all inside, I was doing a lot of research into politics and just becoming very aware of the things that were happening around me.

For Kelly, it was the xenophobic language used by political leaders that compelled her to read more about politics. 

Kelly: I wasn’t necessarily very politically active until I’d say like about 2020, 2019, especially when like COVID really hit, and like I was in seventh grade in middle school, and like especially being like one of the very few like Asian-American kids in a very predominantly white middle school. Like, oh my gosh, in history class, we would watch CNN, and it would just be about general news. And most of the news would be about like COVID spreading and like that kind of stuff. And I remember like kids would like ask me like, “Why did you bring it here?” Or like, “What did you have for dinner last night?” And like, I don’t know, like, it just felt so weird to me that, like, now my peers were, like—just it’s hard to describe, but like, seeing me so differently now after this one thing happened. Like also I’m not even Chinese.

Kelly identifies as Asian American but isn’t of Chinese descent. Kelly, James, and I talked about various topics. They explained how social media, especially TikTok, plays a role in the type of political content they consume. They told me about how their peers casually use racial slurs around school. My interpretation was that students at their high school, often those who are white, think it’s funny or cool to use the N word to each other. Whether or not it’s used ironically, James and Kelly tell me that there are students who take offense. On less political topics, James told me about his interest in music, and Kelly says that she likes to draw. They shared with me their college aspirations. I don’t have many high school students in my life, so it was fun getting to learn about what teenagers are up to these days. I also had the opportunity to ask them about one of the more controversial topics in Douglas County public schools that’s been on my mind. I’ve touched on the subject matter before, but over the past two months, the world history lesson that asserted “Leonardo da Vinci was gender fluid” has caused considerable drama in Douglas County school board meetings. When I first learned about it, I wasn’t sure how big of a deal it exactly was, but it’s gotten to the point where I think it’s worthwhile explaining some details. I’ll first acknowledge that I couldn’t find a journalistic source that investigated all of the facts, but based on what I could piece together, a history teacher showed a film that presented a theory that the Italian Renaissance painting Mona Lisa was a representation of the artist Leonardo da Vinci’s feminine side. It’s unclear to me when exactly the term “gender fluid” was first explicitly used in this context, whether it was during class or only in the parents’ reaction. But the story is that, to a classroom full of students, maybe in response to a student’s question about the video, the teacher claimed that “Leonardo da Vinci was gender fluid.” One of the students in that classroom was the son of a conservative Christian woman named Brandi Bradley, who’s the HD39 State House elected member and a leader of the local Moms for Liberty chapter. In an encounter that she documented on her X account, Representative Bradley confronted the teacher about the video, and in at least one post, called or strongly implied that the teacher was a groomer. She also says that Christian conservative students wouldn’t feel included in a classroom that has multiple LGBTQ flags. This X post garnered an outsized amount of attention, resulting in death threats to the teacher. This conflict evolved into recurring discussions at the weekly school board meetings. Videos of school board meetings are streamed and recorded online, so I watched some of the ones dealing with the Mona Lisa incident. And yeah, the meetings are contentious. I majored in art history in college. And based on some of the weird discussions I’ve had, this type of provocative theory about Leonardo da Vinci is fairly typical as far as the discipline of art history goes. I looked into the scholarly work behind the painting, and yes, this feminine self-portrait theory does exist. But perhaps to Representative Bradley’s credit, the more widely accepted position regarding this famous portrait is that the subject is a woman named Lisa del Giocondo. One way to interpret this whole ordeal is that it’s about what a parent, a teacher, or a school board member thinks should or shouldn’t be taught in high school. Some community members, like those in Moms for Liberty, are framing the discussion as a threat to religious freedom. But at its core, I think the issue is whether the concept of gender fluidity itself is valid and—although I know that there’s a difference between the two—whether transgender people exist. It’s become a way to single out transgender students. In the circles I’ve inhabited, there are passionate critics of Representative Bradley. There are social media accounts dedicated to voting her out of office. I’ve gone down internet black holes trying to get a grasp of what she’s trying to accomplish, but examining Representative Bradley’s online footprint, the most striking thing to me is the veiled language that threatens violence toward people she disagrees with. Some of the social posts I’ve seen are deleted now, but I know she’s previously referenced her right to own a gun and calls herself a “mama bear” when dealing with individuals like the teacher. I live somewhere that has wild bears, and I’d be scared for my life if a mama bear came after me. This school board saga is ongoing and has ripple effects across all political races in Douglas County, including Alyssa’s. And of course, teachers and staff are targets of hostile comments. But the reason I’m spending time explaining all of this background is that students are also affected by the hateful language that adults are using.

James: I think that Moms for Liberty has definitely become predominant in our community, especially that representative being, I think, the chair of our chapter of Moms for Liberty. It really hurts to see the discrimination that has been put on the students in our school from adults. They’re attacking students, and it’s going to affect who they are as a person down the road, whether they see it from adults or students, it doesn’t matter. They’re still being discriminated against, and I feel like it’s just being subjected to discrimination from adults is, it’s abhorrent, and I feel so strongly about inclusivity and diversity and equity that it’s imperative for the recognition of LGBTQ people, especially young people.

Students believe that adults are fostering black-and-white modes of thinking. Especially in an era when both information and disinformation are readily accessible, I believe young people are being forced to develop an ability to discern the two at an earlier age and might actually understand complex topics better than adults give them credit for. The students I spoke to see the value in having calm, nuanced discussions.

Kelly: Even if I’m someone who has mainly more left-leaning ideas, I think it’s important to sit down with other people who have different ideas from me and have civil conversations with them To understand why because it’s like I don’t know. I feel like there’s so much Like and like just like of people like fighting each other and hating each other and being like well you’re wrong because This and that. At the end of the day people like we all just need to sit down and have a civilized conversation about like, you know, what we believe in and why. And like, just be civilized with each other instead of just like hating each other.

What Kelly says has been central to my experience learning about and volunteering for Alyssa. If we all just took the time to talk to each other and actually listen, we’d be in a better place. The day after our interview and the day before her 18th birthday, Kelly sent me a screenshot of a text from BallotTrax notifying that her mail-in ballot was being mailed to her. Again, the mail-in ballot system might be the coolest part about Colorado. James still isn’t able to vote in this election, but of course, his age hasn’t stopped him from getting involved.

Toshiki Nakashige: Thank you so much for your time.

James: Thank you, Toshiki

Kelly: Yeah, thank you so much.

I was thoroughly impressed by the maturity that James and Kelly carry, and meeting them motivates me to talk to the young people in my life about politics. They might have more thoughts about what adults are arguing about than we assume.

Kelly: OK, so I just received my ballot. Oh, “Did you remember to sign your ballot envelope?” And then I have this. It teaches you how to vote on your ballot. And it’s just, yeah, it’s just a bunch of instructions, so I’ll definitely read up on that. Oh, yeah, here—that’s—this is the ballot, yeah. So my thoughts afterward about voting on the ballot, I thought it was a pretty interesting experience, and I was glad that there was, like, some instructions to, you know, find out what to do and figure out how to send your ballot through. So that was pretty great. Overall, I’d say, like, voting is pretty easy, and if anybody is of age and registered, they should vote.

[Advertisement] This episode of Middleweight is supported by Pacific Mercantile Company. The supermarket offers a variety of Asian specialty food items. Miso paste, dashi, Chinese chili oil, matcha latte mixes, and all types of rice crackers. I could go on and on. In addition, though, there’s a whole other section of the store dedicated to kitchen appliances like rice cookers and gifts. There are vases and traditional Japanese figures, and they also have beautiful tea and sake sets. I’m only here for a few months, so I’m not really looking for home decor items. But I’ve stopped by to purchase tea infusers from that part of the store, and I love walking down those aisles. It’s a little bit of comfort for someone who’s increasingly homesick. If you’re looking for the perfect gift or just want to treat yourself with something new, check out the gifts section at Pacific. Pacific Mercantile Company: Finest Asian Foods and Gifts.

Toshiki Nakashige: Hi, my name is Toshiki. I’m a volunteer canvassing for Alyssa Nilemo. She’s a candidate for State House House District 44. I’m going to leave some information about—

Doorbell: Sorry, we’re not interested. Have a great day.

Toshiki Nakashige: OK, thank you!

There were some discouraging moments and also comically sad ones. But there were also bright spots canvassing. Of the approximately 10% of houses where someone answered the door for me, I encountered a handful of people who sounded genuinely grateful to be receiving this information. Many of them cared about the public school system. I’ll also remember the one guy who, after hearing my spiel about Alyssa, all but promised to vote for her. Reflecting on my experiences canvassing, I’ll share three ideas I walked away with. First, the information you think of as private is probably out there in some database, and a political campaign will use it to hunt you down. For example, MiniVAN is a software that Democratic Party campaigns employ to target likely Democratic leaning voters. The Republican Party also has something similar. But essentially these programs use Secretary of State voter registration, voting history, internal party surveys, donations to special interests groups, socioeconomic information, and other sort of personal data that might indicate a voter’s likelihood to support a particular candidate or cause. My second takeaway is that politics can be lonely. People say that growing older means having fewer and fewer friends. But proactively trying to meet strangers for two months, I’m learning that we do it to ourselves. Our ideas about what comfort means limit us. My last piece of reflection, which I already had a hunch about, is that Alyssa Nilemo is a genuine and hard-working person. I don’t mean to imply that Alyssa guilted me into canvassing for six weekends. But you can’t help but believe: if Alyssa’s working this hard, I can too. There are still a few days before the election, so volunteers and staff are still out there knocking doors reminding voters to submit their ballots. But as the campaign winds down its operations, I sat down with Alyssa’s campaign manager Paula Smith to give me a recap.

Paula Smith: When we started the race, Alyssa had approached me and said, OK, we’re going to have a $100,000 budget. And I was like, wow, that’s something that’s never happened here in Douglas County at an individual candidate’s level. But we went ahead, and I built out a budget for $20,000. I think I did a $40,000, $60,000, and then an $80,000. I never made it up to $100,000. And I just allocated based on the different ways that we wanted to reach out to our voters.

In the end, Alyssa fundraised about $42,000. Even though she didn’t reach her initial goal of $100,000, Alyssa should be and I know is proud because $42,000 is exceptional for a first-time candidate in a house district election. So with this budget, Paula allocated resources to the various methods a campaign could reach voters. It requires the time and energy of willing volunteers, but with only the cost of printing the flyers, the cheapest method is canvassing.

Paula Smith: I think at this point, we’ve canvassed approximately 5,000 doors.

Districts were drawn to represent 89,000 residents, so in reality, even counting houses with multiple voters, 5,000 probably isn’t a significant portion of the population. Even though organizing canvassing volunteers takes a lot of effort, it’s important. Face-to-face interaction with a voter is typically the most effective way to get a candidate’s message across. The campaign also sent postcards to voters.

Paula Smith: We were fortunate. So we got 8,000 postcards written. I’d say about two-thirds of that was donated in stamp money, which was really good.

The postcards had handwritten messages by volunteers.

Paula Smith: It was something that was determined early on, that it was a very personalized touch and saying, “Hey, neighbor, I know somebody. Can you vote for them?” It’s a fairly effective approach. It’s just very expensive.

I learned that postcard stamps cost 56 cents each.

Paula Smith: We put out mailers as well. So we probably put out about, I think, 8,000 mailers.

Mailers are similar to the flyers used during canvassing, but they’re adapted in a way they can be delivered directly to voters by mail.

Paula Smith: You know, the joke is, it takes, what is it, three seconds for them to see your name before it hits the trash can. So that’s a lot of money, that you’re paying for a mailer to make it to the trash can. What a waste. Just what a waste environmentally.

These costly pieces of physical media are a necessity sometimes.

Paula Smith: We have to meet all of our voters where they’re at. So we had to print mailers. We had to reach certain voters. We had to think about, “How do we want to allocate our funds?” Like, “Who are the people that we want to do the mailers to?” Apartments, certain populations that are not as walkable. Because now that you’ve been canvassing, you understand you can’t get to all of them. So for those, you want to send mailers and postcards. Those are the types of demographics that you’re looking to do.

Lastly, there are ways to reach voters through the internet.

Paula Smith:  And then you wanna kind of wrap it all up with a digital campaign.

A digital campaign includes the ads you see before watching a YouTube video.

Paula Smith: And then we put out about $13,000 worth of digital advertising, which hits, it follows you around. So it basically says, okay, Toshiki is watching CBS right now, so let’s throw an Alyssa ad out there so that they can see what she’s about.

What Paula means when she says digital advertising “follows you around” is that advertising companies use cell phone provider data to target specific users on, perhaps, multiple apps or devices they’re spending time on. Again, the information you think is private probably isn’t.

Paula Smith: I actually think digital is better because you don’t just see that ad one time, you may see it eight times, right? And that’s gonna leave a longer oppression than a three-second trip from mailbox or from your porch to the trash can.

Over the course of the campaign, Alyssa also received 13 endorsements. Her most recent endorsement was by US Senator John Hickenlooper, former Denver Mayor and Colorado Governor.

Paula Smith: So the Douglas County Democrats put on an event a couple of weeks ago. It was a partnership with John Hickenlooper, and he came out. And it was a get out the vote kind of rally.

The local candidates in attendance were given the opportunity to speak about why they were running and what motivates them. Alyssa gave a speech about how she was inspired by her family’s history in Colorado.

Paula Smith: You could just see Senator Hickenlooper’s face. I think he said, “Wow.” I think we saw that at one instant because it was so compelling and so moving. And he didn’t even hesitate after that to give her his endorsement.

I think it’s pretty standard that a candidate’s campaign will reach out to an organization or individual, asking them for an endorsement, and it’s somewhat of a formal process with applications and interviews sometimes. But this endorsement by Senator Hickenlooper happened more organically.

Paula Smith: We were not expecting it. So then I approached one of his campaign staff, and they were like, “Yeah, you know, just give me your information.” And sure enough, we got it. He even, I think even offered to canvas for her at some point. Given his very busy schedule and the compressed timeframe, I don’t think we’re gonna be able to make that happen. But I was like, “That’s pretty impressive when you have somebody offering of his caliber to canvas for her and to go door to door with her.”

The campaign posted a video of Alyssa’s speech at that event, and after watching it myself, I agree, it was moving. At the end of our conversation, Paula returned to the topic of campaign finance and wanted to make sure to highlight how hard Alyssa worked to raise the $42,000 she ended up raising.

Paula Smith: That was something that she earned and not as an incumbent. So incumbents are generally privy to the special interest money that they’re getting. So where Alyssa got some, you can find that, it’s all available on TRACER.

TRACER stands for Transparency in Contribution and Expenditure Reporting, and it’s Colorado's online campaign finance disclosure system managed by the Secretary of State.

Paula Smith: Anybody listening to this podcast can go out there and look to see where—follow the money—where their candidates or who they’re voting for, where their money is coming from. But you can clearly see, her opponents was getting a ton of special interest money and a lot of it.

Special interest money refers to funds provided by specific groups, often with vested interest in specific policies or legislation, to a candidate or party, usually in exchange for influence. Alyssa received some special interest money, but the incumbent typically receives more than the challenger. In the 2024 HD44 race, Anthony Hartsook indeed received more special interest money than Alyssa, and about four times more.

Paula Smith: The other thing is, is that, the opponent was able to loan himself like $15,000. Alyssa is a working class candidate. She doesn’t have 15 grand lying around to boost her message. Because that’s what the money is. All of the money that we use is for her message to reach as many voters as we can, to convince them that she’s the right candidate, but we have to have money to pay for that, right? She didn’t have, unfortunately, 15 grand just lying around in her own personal funds that she could have dedicated towards this. He did. You know, so that’s a situation of people voting, you know, for somebody who actually represents them, who has walked in their shoes. And I think a lot of people in Parker are working-class individuals, right? She is a working-class individual.

Candidates are able use their own money to fund their campaigns with the potential to repay themselves from future campaign contributions.

Paula Smith: From that standpoint, he did out-raise her because of the special interest money and because of his own personal loan. But if you take out those factors, they were neck to neck in fundraising, which was incredible given that Alyssa, this is her first race that she’s run.

The limit for a campaign contribution to a Colorado House of Representatives candidate by an individual donor is $450 per election cycle. There are higher limits for contributions from different types of groups, and there isn’t a limit for how much a candidate can give to their own campaign. Given the competitive fundraising numbers, Paula is happy about what Alyssa was able to accomplish as a first-time candidate. I was curious and looked at TRACER myself. Based on contributions made between January 1, 2023, and October 23, 2024, Representative Hartsook earned about $55,000 from 173 contributors with a median contribution of $200. Alyssa earned about $42,000 from 320 contributors with a median contribution of $84. Not counting special interest groups, she had more than double the number of individual contributors and raised more from individual contributions than her opponent. I immersed myself in Alyssa’s political life the past few months. Getting introduced to Alyssa’s personal and professional networks as well, I’ve begun to understand a theme in her life in Colorado. This state welcomes everyone. I met the sensei who taught Alyssa the Japanese martial art naginata when she was younger. I chatted with one of her fellow Asian Chamber of Commerce board members. And I’ve kept in touch with Nadia, the Parker resident who started volunteering for Alyssa’s campaign. These three people all intersected with Alyssa at different stages of her life. But the thing they have in common is that they were born somewhere else, grew up in a different culture, and moved to Colorado. They’ve also all learned something from Alyssa, especially about what it means to be a Coloradan. I continue telling Alyssa’s story on Middleweight: District 44. Next time.

Jean Yien: You really have to be dedicated to the discipline, the form, and acceptance of the culture that it embodies.

Brent Sabati: Coming to Colorado. I’m like, “Oh, I’m not Japanese. I’m Japanese Hawaiian.” And where does that fit within the very broad diaspora that is Japanese American culture?

Nadia Konstantinov: I’m more of an immigrant than you are, but people are going to look at you and think you’re an immigrant and I’m an American because I’m white.

Middleweight is produced by me, Toshiki Nakashige. The art for the podcast was created by Yoko Takahashi. Music was composed by Tim Greer and performed by Steve Denny and Gary Tsujimoto. Special thanks to Donna Pixler. For more information about the podcast, please visit middleweightpodcast.com, and subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. My name is Toshiki Nakashige. Thanks for listening.