Newport-Mesa’s own volunteer army

Danette Goulet

They are canvassing two cities, walking through every neighborhood and

going door to door, calling every home until it’s too late and then

stuffing envelopes late into the night.

They are your bleary-eyed real estate agent, your yawning lawyer and

that exhausted mother in the supermarket.

They are the 300 to 400 volunteers who have devoted countless hours in

hopes of convincing two-thirds of the voters in the Newport-Mesa Unified

School District to check yes on Measure A on June 6 for a $110-million

bond.

It is their mission to personally reach at least 30,000 of the 90,000

voters in Newport-Mesa.

“I’ll tell you, it’s really been a team effort,” said Gail Hedrick, a

parent volunteer from Costa Mesa. “From Kaiser, I’ve probably enlisted 50

or 60 volunteers to do everything from hand addressing envelopes to

mailing stuffing and precinct walking.”

Each school site has one to two representatives, like Hedrick who get

the rest of that school community involved.

In February, before the school board even agreed to put a school bond

before voters, the seed had been planted and the campaign committee --

Citizens to Rebuild Our Schools -- began to grow and branch out,

enlisting hundreds over time.

The group began with four co-chairs from the community, Mark

Schultheis overseeing the fund-raising, Jill Money heading up the

volunteers, Hank Panian garnering the senior vote and former Costa Mesa

mayor Arlene Schafer helping to reach the community.

Now with three weeks left until Election Day, there are nine

subcommittees with 10 chair people heading up the growing number of

volunteers.

They are not alone, however. They have enlisted the aid of a

consultant with the Tramatola Co., Ariane Lehew. The Tramatola Co. has a

success rate upwards of 80% on bond campaigns, Lehew said. And for

$45,000 Tramatola has lent its expertise to the dedicated legions of

volunteers.

When the committee last filed its campaign financial statement on

March 22, $16,000 had been raised after expenses, said Jim Scott

treasurer for the committee.

Schultheis estimates between corporate and personal donations the

group has raised about $200,000. That, however, is before paying

Tramatola, four office personal who receive between $10 and $15 an hour

and bills, Scott said.

Figured into that may also be in-kind donations such as the use of

office space, he added.

The committee is due to file again on Thursday.

Under Lehews’ direction, those volunteers have become organized and

reached between 15,000 and 20,000 voters already.

Hundreds of residents have signed up for shifts to make phone calls

five nights a week from three different locations, the campaign office on

17th Street in Costa Mesa; Prudential Real Estate in Newport Beach; and

Phase II Systems in Newport Beach. On any given phone bank night, 25 to

45 people can be found making calls, Lehew said.

On weekends, volunteers hit the streets to convince voters face to

face why they should support Measure A.

“It’s been a very positive experience for me,” said volunteer

Jerrilynn Kline. “There was one older man, probably 80 years old, who

said ‘I’m always for schools.’ People have been very gracious -- I

haven’t had one door slammed in my face or been hung up on once.”