42nd district candidates get creative to campaign amid Covid-19

Across party lines, candidates are facing the obstacle of campaigning amid a global pandemic. They share similar concerns, from fundraising to safely connecting with voters. The Northern Light talked with the four candidates running for positions in Legislative District 42; from TikTok videos to drive-through meet-and-greets, they have pushed boundaries of creativity to catch voters’ attention.

Sharon Shewmake, 42nd Legislative District Democratic incumbent who is running for a second term, brainstormed neighborhood Bingo and murder mystery parties after seeing what caught the attention of her students at Western Washington University, where she is an economics professor.

“It’s wonderful to invite more people and make it more accessible,” Shewmake said. “I think it’ll be a mix of in-person and online in the future.”

These successes didn’t come without a few flopped ideas, said Shewmake, who was able to find her new campaigning groove in a mix of Zoom events and, eventually, meeting with groups of five masked people.

“We’ve had a lot of experimenting with various levels of success,” said Shewmake, noting online fundraisers took more preparation that meant accommodating shortened attention spans from her online participants.

Shewmake has also started making parody TikToks to inform voters about topics relevant to her campaign.

It started with a parody TikTok video about filing day to Dolly Parton’s “Nine to Five” song, which she’s expanded to videos supporting pro-choice and voter turnout. Shewmake said she saw a lot of people turn to the app to see each other’s experiences during the pandemic.

“I think it’s really hard to know what goes on in the state legislature,” she said. “I try to be silly but I also really try to be educational as well.”

With legislative duties and concern for constituents, Shewmake said how the pandemic would take a toll on her campaign was the last thing on her mind.

“We didn’t know what was going to happen with the campaign but I’m willing to roll with it, be creative and find solutions,” Shewmake said. “My concern has always been for the people who are impacted so I don’t know if I had a huge emotional response to the campaign side.”

Jennifer Sefzik, a high school debate coach and small business owner running against Shewmake as a Republican, said she has focused on safely meeting voters in person instead of through Zoom.

Sefzik doorbells three to four times a week for a couple hours at a time. She said she follows the same guidelines as the U.S. Census Bureau, wears a mask, allows 8-10 feet of distance and gives the choice to residents to open the door.

“My favorite part of the campaign is getting to hear people with concerns, seeing what they’re thinking,” she said. “People want to talk. We’ve all been through so much these last few months. We’re all grieving the loss of normalcy.”

Sefzik said she realized when businesses and schools closed in March that it would affect campaigning so she leaned into her marketing background to reach voters.

“I had to figure out how to be relevant,” she said. “I reconsidered and became more intentional with my social media platform.”

Sefzik began a “behind closed doors” series on her Facebook and website that highlights stories from voters she’s met, like a Birch Bay man from El Salvador who told her about moving to the U.S. 30 years ago to work. She’s also attended drive-through meet-and-greet and sign pickups that allows Sefzik to talk with voters from a safe distance.

Sefzik said she was excited for the September 19 opening of a second Whatcom County Republicans office in Ferndale. Although she won’t have office hours, Sefzik plans to visit while people call voters there.

Luanne Van Werven, the Republican incumbent running for Legislative District 42, Position 1, said she’s increased calling voters this year to adapt, and will focus her digital and mail outreach in the last month of campaigning.

Van Werven, along with the other candidates, said she prefers meeting voters in person because that’s more relaxed and helps her better understand the challenges they face.

“We’ve been surprised at the positive response to doorbelling and I think a lot of people have been isolated at home and I think they’re pleased to be able to talk with people face-to-face so the response has been positive,” she said.

Van Werven said it would save money if elected officials didn’t have to drive to Olympia as often. She said she’s only traveled once since the session ended in March, in contrast to the usual couple of trips per month.

“We’re learning some interesting things about how we campaign or about how we relate with people,” Van Werven said. “I think about this whole idea of Zoom meetings, maybe I don’t have to spend as much time driving around to meetings if we can do it at home from computers. I think that may be how we do business in the future.”

Van Werven said she was happily surprised this year with record fundraising.

“I’m so grateful for all the people who have stuck with me and have given above and beyond, even as they have in the past,” Van Werven said. “I thought fundraising would be my biggest challenge but I think there’s a lot of energy and enthusiasm and people have really risen to the occasion.”

Alicia Rule is a Blaine city councilmember, social worker and small business owner running as a Democrat against Van Werven for Legislative District 42 Position 1.

“Covid has impacted every part of this campaign,” she said. “Never in a million years would I have ever imagined when I decided to run for office that we would be facing a pandemic, let alone campaigning in it.”

Rule said she believes it’s harder as a challenger to campaign with the barriers of a pandemic but she’s used phone calls to meet voters.

Working remotely means the playroom in Rule’s home has been converted to a home campaign office. “I might be the only candidate who has an air hockey table in the back of my home office,” she said.

Rule said she doesn’t see campaigning from home necessarily as a negative because she’s able to show her children a perspective of campaigning they otherwise wouldn’t see.

“An upside is my conversations are so authentic,” Rule said. “They always would be, but there’s something disarming about the reality of working out of your house and having your kids around.”

Like the other candidates, Rule said she’s working to create connections with Whatcom County residents during a time when social distancing has meant more than standing six-feet apart.

“My least favorite thing to do is to give any sort of campaign speech over Zoom because you can’t feel anything coming back,” she said. “You just have to hope that you’re reading the audience right.”