Saturday, Sept. 22 is the “go” date for the Arlington County Democratic Committee’s annual distribution of The Messenger, its campaign newspaper. And the party is starting earlier to recruit the rank-and-file to get the job done.
“It takes more than 400 volunteers to cover every house in the county,” the committee noted in its monthly newsletter, promising that “most routes make for a very pleasant jaunt around a neighborhood.”
The annual newspaper carries information about its candidates and on other issues on the ballot, which this year are expected to include a number of bond referenda. While most of the distribution will take place the weekend of Sept. 22-23, volunteers whose schedules require a later time are not turned away.
The typical route takes about 80 to 100 minutes, Democratic officials said, and there’s no extraneous chit-chat needed –those doing the distributing tuck the Messenger inside screen doors or under doormats and are on their way.
Because it’s difficult for any political party to gain access to high-rise apartment complexes, the distribution of the newspaper to those homes generally is through the U.S. mail.
Republicans also have their own materials to be distributed across Arlington, but generally it is a less comprehensive effort than that conducted by the Democrats.