‘In order to fix the climate crisis, we need to fix the democracy crisis.’
– Former Vice President Al Gore
Since the January 6, 2021, an insurrection attack on the U.S. Capitol by a violent mob of Donald Trump supporters trying to overthrow the U.S. Government election results, I am worried about our American democracy. Before the January 6th insurrection, I took it for granted that it was strong and would always exist.
After January 6th, I switched from being strictly a climate organizer to a climate and democracy organizer. To document my lifelong shift in thinking, I wrote an 8-part blog from October to December 2023, For Climate Action, let’s protect our democracy.
I followed up those writings with a related blog I posted in April 2024, For Climate Action, be kind to people knocking at your door. The blog was about my dedication and frustration to knocking on doors in in the Portland OR metro area as a U.S. Census Enumerator in 2020 and as a paid political canvasser/field organizer for the 2022 midterm elections. I wanted to uphold our democracy and to urge my fellow community members to vote for support Democratic candidates who would pass strong climate bills and uphold our democracy.
With the Oregon Primary Election happening in May 2024 and the general election looming on November 5, 2024, I was eager to engage with voters to urge them to support strong Democratic candidates that would stand up for our democracy from the rising threat of authoritarianism. This multi-part blog is an account of my actions January to November 2024. I will then conclude about my reaction to the 2024 election and what actions we should take now.
Part 1: Organizing and canvassing for our democracy in the spring and summer of 2024
Part 2: Rough times and the friendly cats when I canvassed in summer and fall 2024
Part 3: The Good and Bad Personal Moments canvassing in the autumn of 2024
Part 4: My actions and reactions to the November 2024 U.S. Presidential Election
Part 3: The Good and Bad Personal Moments canvassing in the autumn of 2024
Biking for a day on the Springwater Trail to renew my spirit and energy
I worked 6 days a week for over a month, so I needed two days off to clear my head, recharge my batteries, and get a fresh start to return to work on Wednesday.
On Monday, September 16th, I woke up and decided to take a bike ride around the city of Portland to refresh my spirits. It was a perfect sunny autumn day with the temperature in the upper 70s and almost no clouds in the sky. I loaded the bike that Tanya and I share onto the front of a public bus and rode the bus to SE 162nd and Powell Blvd. I then rode the bike through a southeast Portland subdivision to connect to the Springwater Corridor bike trail.
This multi-use pedestrian and bike trail is a wonderful hidden gem in Portland. No buses, trucks, vehicles, or motorcycles are allowed on it. For most of it, big deciduous trees lined either side of the path, with some houses, businesses, and industrial parks hidden but accessible behind the trees. This trail was definitely in the middle of the Portland Metro Area. However, all the trees and lack of noise of the made the trail feel more rural and outdoorsy than it should be. This bike path was the perfect tonic for me to forget about work while I enjoyed the beauty and serenity of it for the first time. Tanya and I had lived in Portland for over 7 years at that time, but I had never been on this paved bike path before.
I rode on the section from behind Powell Bute to Sellwood, located several miles due south of downtown Portland. This portion of the Springwater Trail from behind Powell Butte to Sellwood was about 8 miles. The Springwater Trail in this portion was nearly flat with minimal curves. It was a breeze to ride the bike that Tanya and I owned on this trail. I steered around a few other cyclists, runners, mother walking children, skateboards, and a few homeless camps to remind me that I still resided in Portland OR.
As I approached Sellwood, I texted my friend Walt Minkeski to let him know that I was bicycling near his home on the Springwater Trail. I asked him if we would be interested if I stopped by to say hello. Walt’s response was, “Please drop by…About what time will you arrive?”
I texted my estimated arrival time and I set my GPS for Walt’s house in Sellwood. Walt was a retired engineer in his 70s. I knew him for years since Tanya and I moved to Portland in 2017. Walt and I volunteered with Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) and Oregon League of Conservation Voters (OLCV). Walt was slowing down a big since he had regular doctor’s visits to combat his lung cancer. Walt was a well-known climate and environmental champion in the Portland metro area. A few months earlier, he asked me to take over one of his volunteer roles: the CCL volunteer Congressional Liaison for the Oregon District 03. Walt liked how I had success reaching out to schedule CCL lobby meetings with the staff of our then Congressman Earl Blumenauer.
Walt wanted to meet with me for months to share his cancer treatments were not going well. He hoped I would step up to be the CCL Congressional Liaison in his place. Since Tanya and I moved to Portland in 2017, Walt became a mentor to me. We attended numerous CCL Lobby meetings together in Washington D.C. and in Oregon. We also served together on the OLCV Multnomah County Endorsement Committee, conducting group interviews with legislative candidates and incumbents to determine if OLCV should endorse them. We developed a friendship over the years. He took me backpacking in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness at the end of July 2021.
Walt indicated to me that his doctors believed he only had about a year or two left to live. Thus, it was a blessing I was able to take time off work and serendipitously drop by his house to spend some quality time with him. We hung out in his backyard picking grapes off the vines of this fence. The grapes were tasty to snack on while we harvested the grapes. They were overall sweet with a hint of a bitter taste, but we had to watch out for the seeds within the grapes.
Being with Walt was always a revelation how he treated everyone with kindness. At the house next door were men of Latino background working on the roof speaking to each other in Spanish. The fence and the grapevines were so high that we could not see them. Many years prior, Walt spent time in Belize where he was able to pick up Spanish. Walt had a pleasant conversation with them in Spanish just making sure they were having a great day.
After Walt gave me a big container of grapes from his backyard, I continued my bike ride around Portland. I next took the Springwater Trail north along the east path of the Willamette River from Sellwood to downtown Portland. This portion of the Springwater Trail gave me lovely views of the river and Portland City Skyline. I then took the bike upon the MAX commuter train and public buses to head home.
Balancing Enjoying Life while working hard to canvass for our democracy
The next evening, September 17, my wife Tanya and I went downtown to see American Historian Heather Cox Richardson give a lecture about American history and the importance of staying active to protect democracy against the authoritarian threat of Donald Trump. After the bike ride on the Springwater Trail around Portland and the Heather Cox Richardson lecture, I was re-energized to knock on doors for our democracy.
At the same time, I was still nervous about a negative outcome to the election. On September 18th, I posted on social media a photo of me knocking on a door with this comment: “For #democracy, this election is still way too close. I am still worried we could lose our freedoms to a strongman autocratic wannabe dictator who is running for President. Over these next 47 days, please do all you can to knock on doors, phone bank, and speak with your family, neighbors, & friends to support Democratic candidates.”
I was back at full throttle to canvass to elect OR Democratic legislative and local candidates. The next few weeks, according to my social media posts, I estimated I knocked on over 930 doors.
I balanced this hard work with pleasure. On Saturday evening, September 29th, Tanya and I attended an Oregon Symphony concert to see them accompany the music for the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. This was one of the scariest and most entertaining movies of my childhood. We enjoyed seeing it on a big movie screen with a live orchestra playing the film music.
On October 4th, Tanya and I had a fun date on that Thursday evening to go see Liberace and Liza Tribute Variety Show, performed by David Saffert and Jillian Snow, at the Alberta Rose Theatre in northeast Portland OR. Tanya went to college with David Saffert. We like to see this performance live when they are in Portland OR.
On Friday evening, October 5th, I liked seeing climate scientist Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson speak at Powell’s Books in downtown Portland about her new book, What if We Get It Right. The book was about envisioning a positive world we want to create where we effectively reduce the climate change threat. I enjoyed having her sign my book and get a picture with her.
Over the next week, I knocked on over 550 doors in east Portland for nearby Oregon Legislative candidates and local candidates.
Tanya and I missed hiking with each other. With working up to 6 days a week canvassing, including weekends, we had not had a chance to go for a hike since our vacation in August.
Tanya took a vacation day off on October 7th so we could walk in a scenic area to close to Mt. Hood. We hiked to Mirror Lake and Tom, Dick & Harry Mountain (Yes! That really is the name) to get great views of Mt. Hood and surrounding mountains, as well as to see some autumn colors. This is one of my favorite hikes in Oregon. On a clear day, one can see 5 nearby Cascade Volcanos: Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Jefferson. The visibility was nearly crystal clear to easily spot all these mountains while we ate our lunch on the summit. It was spectacular clear fall day, the best kind of Indian summer day to explore in the outdoors.
My good and bad days of canvassing in late October
From October 8th onward, I worked almost every day until the election to urge voters to elect Democratic legislators and local candidates in the east Portland area. On my one day off on October 21st, I knocked on 30 doors in my own apartment complex to urge my neighbors to vote. Tanya thought I was insane. However, I thought it was important to make sure that my neighbors voted. Years earlier, I volunteered to be part of the Multnomah Democrats Neighborhood Leader program to canvass in my own neighborhood to increase the turnout for voters living nearby. I was able to sleep in that morning. It took only an hour and a half to knock on my neighbors’ doors. I felt like I made a difference for our democracy and my neighborhood.
In the remaining weeks leading up to the election, I saw the best and worst in people as I knocked the doors. One October day when I canvassed in a rural area outside of Damascus OR, I had a long driveway to hike up to the house that was around a half mile long. When I got up to the front door and knocked, the old reclusive man just yelled at me, “Not interested!”
He then slammed the door in door in my face. It was annoying to devote that much energy walking to one house only to have the voter be so rude to me. On the other hand, I had some other extremely long driveways where the voters were kind to chat with me when I finally reached their front door.
On a cold rainy day in late October, I walked up to a front door. The rain puddle on the front porch created a reflective surface that made it hard to see the green algae living in the water. When I took a step into the algae, it was so slick that I slid into the air like I had stepped on a banana peel. I landed on my back and had the wind knocked out of me. I was briefly worried that I somehow injured myself. I lucked out that I was fine, just shaken up.
I did have the joy of talking to an 88-year-old mom voting for the first time because she did not want Donald Trump to win. When I talked with her 50 something daughter who lived at the same residence, she was so proud that her mom was voting for the first time.
I knocked on one door in Gresham where a middle-aged man acted rather frosty to me. I handed him the campaign lit. He was in the process of telling me, “You can have this back!” However, his 20 something daughter with purple hair and multiple piercings reached around to grab the information from her dad. She seemed intent to learn about the candidates and vote in the upcoming election. She would not let the grumpy attitude of her intimidating dad stop her.
When I knocked on doors one afternoon, I had a long conversation with another young 20 something woman about the election and politics. She told me that she could not vote for Trump and the Republicans because she just watched the Handmaid’s Tale Series. That book and television series looked too bleak for me to watch. However, it amazed me that it left an impression on this woman to take voting seriously, especially against Trump and GOP candidates.
I was so dedicated and tenacious as a Field Organizer that my boss Billy Fish promoted me to a Lead Field Organizer position for the last couple weeks of the campaign. I oversaw distributing campaign lit to have of the ECR Field Organizer Team. My other duties included providing water, snacks, and rides for restroom breaks for the Field Organizers without cars. It was good news to receive a boost in pay the last few weeks on the campaign. The bad news was that I worked more hours as I was already feeling burned out from the election work.
Speaking to Danish High School students curious about the Presidential election
My wife Tanya is Danish American, and my mother-in-law Nancy is originally from Denmark. In mid-October, one of Nancy’s Danish cousins asked me if I would do a live Zoom interview with Danish high school students who had questions for me about the upcoming American election.
After exchanging emails for several days, I scheduled the Zoom interview with the Danish High School students on October 23rd. I talked with 3 high school students, two young men and young woman. I greeted them with the little bit of Danish I could speak. However, like most Danes, they spoke English well. They asked me very insightful questions, such as, who did I think would win the U.S. Presidential election?
I replied the same way that I had for months: “It depends upon which voter I talked with last.”
I talked with many voters who absolutely did not want Donald Trump to win. That gave me hope Kamala Harris would win. On the other hand, I encountered many voters who told me that they did not plan to vote or planned to vote for Donald Trump. That always left me feeling deflated Donald Trump could win again. Even more, the polls were tight that it made me nervous if Kamala Harris would win. The Danish high school students appreciated my candid answers.
Somehow the issue of guns in the United States came up. I informed the students that I encountered many voters who shared with me that they like their guns. Even more, those voters thought their guns were protecting them and they felt strongly the U.S. Constitution should continue their right to bear arms. Personally, I told the students that I was strongly opposed to gun ownership in the U.S. I shared with the students that a fellow climate advocate and friend of mine, KB Mercer, died by suicide using a gun on September 21, 2024.
I shared the well-known fact from the National Library of Medicine, linked in the Psychiatry peer-reviewed journal, and other sources that “People report that they need them for safety and/or sport. However, having a firearm in the home actually increases the rate for suicide, homicide, domestic violence, and accidents.”
We had a long pause after I gave my thoughts on guns to the students. They were silent for a moment. They then said to me in their best and their slow English-speaking style, “We are very sorry about the loss of your friend.”
I was moved to know that they cared about the information I just shared with them about losing my friend KB. These students had a big heart. That was gracious of them to acknowledge and express empathy for my loss. I was impressed with the depth of their questions, curiosity about the U.S, and their great listening skills.
I took a screenshot of the Zoom interview of the Danish High School students and me. Because of the time difference, Denmark was 9 hours ahead of Portland, we conducted this interview early in the morning. It was 7 am my time, around 4 pm Danish time. This conversation was a great start to another full day of canvassing. I will never forget their kindness and genuine curious to learn more about the world, especially the U.S. 2024 Presidential election.
From October 23rd to election day, November 5th, I was singularly focused on knocking on doors to engage with voters, as well as performing my duties as a Lead Field Organizer to provide campaign lit, snacks, water, and car rides to the field organizers needing assistance. I still felt I needed to do all I could in the remaining days of this election to make sure that Kamala Harris and the Democrats won seats in Congress. I hoped other American who were as worried as me were fully devoted to engaging voters to vote to successfully shape the outcome. As I posted on social media on October 26th:
“Let this sink in:
History will judge each and everyone of us for our actions for the next 10 days and last 9 years if we allow Donald Trump to become President on Nov 5th.
The actions you will take over the next10 days will determine if we get to keep our democracy. Please STEP UP YOU GAME to organize, support Democratic candidates, vote, and speak to your friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers to vote.”
My wife Tanya was my supportive and loving partner with all my election canvassing
I don’t talk enough about all the sacrifices my wife Tanya made for our democracy. She was just as worried as me if Donald Trump was elected President again. She worked full time at the medical lab research job, plus she was going to school to get a master’s degree in data analytics. That did not leave much energy for her to work on political campaigns. She cares deeply about politics on issues such as maintaining and strengthening our democracy, climate action, women’s rights, respecting our international allies, protecting immigrants, access to affordable healthcare, and many other issues.
Tanya volunteered for Barak Obama’s Presidential Campaign in 2008. However, she was not as comfortable as me with knocking on doors, making phone calls, organizing events, etc. Tanya was our primary and mostly sole breadwinner while I have been political organizing since we moved to Portland in 2017. During the first 9 years we lived in Portland, we only had one car. We shared my green 2002 Honda Civic. She primarily drove it to her job. I primarily used public transit to attend climate organizing events in the Portland area. Plus, I would carpool with other climate organizers when I would lobby for climate bills at the Oregon Capitol in Salem.
When I canvassed in spring, summer, and fall of 2022 and 2024, I needed my car. I tried for one day to use public transit. I quickly found it did not work because it took too long to get to the areas or turfs that I was assigned to canvass. Even more, the campaign lit I carried was heavy. I needed to store the excess campaign lit in my car. Plus, I always had a bottle of water on me since I would get thirsty, especially in the heat of summer, or after I had long conversations with voters. Because of my fear of ferocious dogs charging, voters slamming doors in my face, and possibly threatening people when I canvassed, I mostly felt a bit edgy and nervous. The stress would dry out my mouth and throat, so I drank a lot of water. Plus, I kept several containers of water in my car to keep me hydrated. Even more, I packed a lunch, which was easier to store in my car than a heavy backpack. With drinking lots of water, the urge to use the bathroom could happen suddenly. It was helpful to have my car nearby when I needed a bathroom fast.
Because it was vital for me to have my car when canvassing, that meant Tanya had to make a sacrifice for her commute to work. The deal we worked out was I would drive her to work each morning around 7 am. She would take the bus home from work while I canvassed. Tanya never complained about taking the bus home, even though the bus was late sometimes and occasionally some odd characters were on the bus. Tanya walked almost a mile from the bus stop to our apartment. That meant some days she had to walk intense heat or rain showers. Even worse, she had a homeless encampment she had to walk around to get home from the bus in 2022 that she did not feel safe walking by. I did not feel safe walking by the camping trailers with homeless people living on the inside either. Some of them looked like they struggled with drug addiction and mental issues. Even worse, some of these homeless individuals had threatening dogs that liked to lunge at people that walked too close to their camping trailers.
After Tanya came home, she was then trapped because I had the car. She could not drive to a grocery store, a gym, a hiking trail, or go anywhere she wanted involving a car because I had the car for my job. Again, she never complained, but I could feel that she felt constrained. I felt like she made many sacrifices so I could engage with voters.
After watching the news, she would say to me, ‘I wish there was something else I could do.’
I would respond, ‘What do you mean? You are doing a lot. You are sacrificing taking a bus each day from work and supporting me so I can work so hard for our democracy.’
Tanya did not want to knock on doors, phone bank, organize campaign events, or work on a campaign. It was not her cup of tea to do what I did for political organizing. I respected her for that. I thanked her every chance I could for the sacrifices she made so I could work on political campaigns in 2022, 2024, and the spring of 2025. If you ever get a chance to meet Tanya, I hope you will thank her for all she did to help me be a climate and democracy organizer.
Taking Tanya to work each morning was draining for me. I am a night owl. I like to stay up past midnight to read, surf the internet and social media, and write. I then had to set my alarm clock early to take Tanya to work. This meant I had to drag myself out of bed when I wanted to sleep longer so she could get an early start working at her job around 7 am. Many mornings, I just wanted to stay in bed. At the same time, it was a chance to be with her for a few minutes while I dropped her off at work since I would not see her until I came home from work that evening.
One of the few perks of taking Tanya to work early in the morning is sometimes I got to see glorious sun rises. On October 30th, I saw spectacular sun rise that was breath taking. As I drove Tanya to work, I noticed the pre-dawn sky to the east of us was pink absorbing the sun light while the sun was still below the horizon. Mt. Hood was visible to the east that morning with a healthy snowpack of autumn snow. The mountain cast its own lighthouse beacon like shadow as the sun approached the horizon near Mt. Hood. Just the little glimpse I saw while taking Tanya to work inspired me that I must go to a nearby scenic spot to admire this sunrise.
I knew immediately I had to drive to my favorite nearby viewpoint where I can a full view of Mt. Hood. It was a local protected duck pond that I liked to walk to on many days to admire the mountain and take photos. After dropping Tanya off at work, I drove directly to the duck pond to see the sunrise. The sun had not yet peaked over the horizon. However, it created a bright white glow on the horizon as the sun rose behind the distant clouds. The clouds behind and above Mt. Hood where first a brilliant salmon pink color and then the clouds turned to an orangish hue the sun approached the horizon. This was one of the best sunrises I saw in my years of walking and driving to the duck pond to see the early morning dawn sky there.
This sunrise was what I needed as I became more tired of canvassing with the election less than a week away. Thank goodness I drove Tanya to work that morning, and I did not stay in bed.
Playing Pickleball with Tanya for the first time on our wedding anniversary
Two days later, Friday, November 1st, was the 9th wedding anniversary for Tanya and me. Because of how supportive she was of my political canvassing, plus I cherish every chance I can to spend time with her, I asked her what she wanted to do for our anniversary. Both of us worked during that day, but we could easily have a fun date that evening.
When I canvassed in Troutdale in mid-October, I noticed a new pickleball would be opening soon, East County Pickleball. For a couple of years, Tanya and I wanted to try practicing or playing pickleball together. Tanya told me that she wanted to play pickleball for our anniversary. During the week of October 28th, I made a reservation for Tanya and I to play for an hour at this new Pickleball multi-court facility, which as a 20 minute drive east of us. Next to East County Pickleball in the same strip mall was a Thai restaurant that we ate at years prior that we liked.
When I made a reservation for East County Pickleball, the confirmation email stated that one of their rules was for players to “have proper foot attire for court play (non-marking court shoes). No BLACK SOLES on the courts, unless they are non-marking court shoes.”
Gulp! All I had was black and dark soled shoes. Thus, the night before we played pickleball, I drove to a nearby shoe store to buy a pair of shoes with light colored soles so I would not scuff up their brand-new pickle ball courts. I wanted this to be a successful anniversary date!
This was a terrific anniversary date. The Thai dinner was deliciously. However, we could not escape politics and the election because the mounted flat screen TVs in the Chiang Rai Thai Cuisine showed Fox News with Donald Trump getting ready to give a speech at his next campaign election rally. We mostly ignored it though to enjoy our dinner and time together. We then walked next door at this small Troutdale strip mall to the new pickle ball facility.
This new pickleball facility was spacious with 12 courts, with only a few courts reserved that evening. The place had a great atmosphere with old school and newer pop songs played on their sound system. The owner checked us in. She was welcoming, gregarious, and a pleasure to make small talk. Everything was freshly painted with pleasing light blue and beige colors on the pickleball courts. It felt like a hip and joyful place to be to learn, practice, or even seriously become a devoted pickleball player.
Tanya and I had a blast laughing as we practiced hitting the pickle ball back and for to each other across the net. Before we knew it, the middle-aged couple next to us asked if we would want to join them in a mixed doubles game. Tanya and I knew nothing of pickle ball game rules. We followed their lead. They were patient, generous, and kind teaching us the rules, how the game is scored, where to position ourselves on the court, etc.
Before we knew it, our paid one-hour reservation had expired. We were glad we tried pickleball together for our anniversary. We enjoyed the experience so much that we started coming back to play pickle ball there for several times afterwards on a monthly basis. Playing pickleball that evening was a great way to be for Tanya and I to be together. Even better, we forget about politics, canvassing, and the upcoming Presidential election for a few hours.
Stay tuned for the next part of this blog:
Part 4: My actions and reactions to the November 2024 U.S. Presidential Election
