Spending the Summer at Camp Strama

Raven L. Hill, AMERICAN–STATESMAN STAFF

Austin American Statesman
July 27, 2006

Jenny Molyneaux wasn't persuaded as much by the politics as she was by the potential cachet when she decided to join state Rep. Mark Strama's summer campaign academy.

She figured it was a résumé booster.

"But the reason why I kept coming was that I fell in love with the program," said Molyneaux, a senior at St. Stephen's Episcopal School. "I feel like (Strama's) voters are my voters. The issues that they care about, I care about now."

About 20 students are taking part in the Mark Strama Campaign Academy this summer, a free program hosted by the Democrat, whose district includes parts of Austin. Applicants had to submit an essay about their interest in politics. This is the second year for the program.

During the seven–week session, high school and college students take an active role in his campaign.

They spend most days "blockwalking," where they distribute campaign literature door to door, and calling voters to invite them to upcoming events. They keep a blog and scour social networking sites such as MySpace.com and Facebook.com to find potential voters.

At lunch they hear from politicians, educators and journalists, including former Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes, former Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D–Houston, and state Rep. Donna Howard, D–Austin.

"We get to meet these incredible giants of Texas and national politics whom we wouldn't have met otherwise," said Lea Downey, a junior at the University of Texas.

She said it was eye–opening to see firsthand how Strama and other workers manage the campaign.

"A lot of us see those kinds of jobs in our future," she said.

Participants, who include a Republican and a Libertarian, come from public, private and parochial schools, and they say they joined the program for different reasons.

Mark Jbeily introduces himself as the next president of the United States. The youngest participant is 13, but he's hardly the only one with aspirations of political office.

Another participant testified this week on Capitol Hill about disability rights issues. Several are current or future political science majors. There are also student council leaders and returning academy students.

Strama said the idea for the academy came from students who he couldn't afford to hire two years ago. He said they receive a good mix of training and practical experience and that many of this year's participants approached him.

"We give them a lot of latitude to develop their own initiatives. We give them a lot of responsibility, and they handle that responsibility well," Strama said.

The final exam is Saturday's "Stramarama" in Pflugerville, the kick–off event for his re–election bid.

Thomas Peterson, the academy's oldest participant at 26, said he expects them to pass with flying colors. The family–themed event will feature live music and games like "Dunk a Democrat."

For Peterson, a Marine who served in Iraq, the academy provided cause for optimism and bolstered his view of politicians.

"Not everyone is crooked or evil or only out for their own self–interest," he said. "I've met some really good people."