Road Warrior

By Jon Melegrito

Minnesota's Paul Wellstone, a populist Democrat who stands tall on working family issues, rolls toward re-election in a vintage green bus.

St. Cloud, Minnesota
When U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone decided to run for a third term, one of the first things he did was to call out of retirement an exceptional and longtime supporter: a battered school bus. A familiar companion that led Democrat Wellstone to an improbable victory in 1990 against a two-term Republican incumbent, the green '68 Chevy had been retired to a museum after he won re-election six years ago. Now, rolling from town to town, the refurbished vehicle has come to symbolize the 58-year-old populist's grassroots campaign.

Wellstone has been one of AFSCME's best friends in Congress, consistently supporting positions of importance to our members. His re-election race provides a snapshot of the tight, hard-fought contests whose outcomes will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate when it reconvenes in January.

Facing Wellstone is Norm Coleman, a conservative Republican. Wellstone, who had considered retirement, is fighting harder than ever to win. He has revved up the "mean, green campaign machine," given it a fresh coat of paint and come up with a campaign slogan that mocks his opponent's big money: "Our green will beat their green any day!"

Green in this case has an important double meaning: It's the color not only of Wellstone's rolling office but also of his many fervent AFSCME supporters. AFSCME members are proud recruits in the army of what Wellstone calls the "little people" who do phone banking, phone in to radio shows, write letters to the editor, help candidates run for school board, register new voters and, on Election Day, get out the vote. They are the environmentalists, rural activists, students and working men and women who consistently and reliably hit the streets, the phone lines and the keyboards on the senator's behalf.

As Wellstone descends from his bus in St. Cloud one Friday noon in mid-August, he is greeted by a small sea of "AFSCME for Wellstone" T-shirts. Among those spending her lunch break that day to welcome the senator is Gayle Clark, an office administration specialist at St. Cloud State University and a member of Local 753 (Council 14). She claps heartily as Wellstone and his wife, Sheila, greet the AFSCME contingent with hugs and handshakes.

Impressive honesty

"I'm rooting for him," Clark says. "He's sincere and speaks from the heart." She likes Wellstone's stand on universal health care, education and affordable prescription drugs. That's why, this time, she plans to get involved by making phone calls. In his last race, she put up a lawn sign. "I may not agree with him on abortion [Wellstone favors ‘choice']," she adds, "but he impresses me with his honesty."

Ron Fink, a state maintenance worker, likes the way Wellstone "sticks up for the small people. He's a working stiff just like the rest of us. He's passionate about what he stands for, and he does not come off as a politician." As steward of Local 753, Fink coordinated today's AFSCME welcoming party.

"I love to see AFSCME members wearing green shirts," Wellstone declares to a crowd of supporters at St. Cloud's Whitney Senior Center. "It gives me a boost because the members always play an incredibly important role in my campaign."

Tom Beer, his liaison for labor matters, describes our role in some detail: "Labor-to-neighbor contact — that's how AFSCME makes a difference. It is totally consistent with the senator's strategy of politics at the retail level. And in Minnesota, senate races are won this way — from the bottom up. That's why we say ‘Wall Street Wants Coleman; Main Street Wants Wellstone.' We'll beat their money with our people."

Polls be damned

As the underdog challenger 12 years ago, the former university professor proved that he can do just that when he defeated a popular Republican incumbent who had a $7-million war chest. Trailing in the polls by 16 points only weeks before Election Day, Wellstone eventually triumphed by running a campaign that one observer described as "risky, inventive" and "unabashedly left-liberal." In 1990, he was the only candidate to unseat a Senate incumbent.

This year, Wellstone's bus carries great national significance: Political analysts believe that control of the Senate may well hinge on the outcome of races in three states: South Dakota, New Hampshire and Minnesota.

Linda Williams, Minnesota chairwoman of PEOPLE (AFSCME's political-action program), barnstormed with Wellstone during his 1996 re-election campaign. She is concerned but upbeat about this year's prospects. She's back on the bus again, showing AFSCME's colors at every stop, making sure everybody knows why they need to return Wellstone to Washington.

This time, the campaign trail starts from Elk River to Mora — a 100-mile stretch of city and county roads, through corn and soybean fields, alongside townhouses and paint-chipped barns. As the bus nears St. Cloud, Wellstone joins Williams at the back of the bus to talk about the race. "I feel good about winning," he tells her as he waves to truck drivers along Highway 10. "That's because we have a well-organized grassroots organization."

Frigid protest

Williams reminisces about how it all started in 1988. There was an outdoor rally in Cambridge, 60 miles north of St. Paul. The temperature stood at 30 below zero, but 400 people came out to protest the closing of regional treatment centers that led to massive layoffs. Jesse Jackson, scheduled as the main speaker, couldn't make it. Williams:

"Instead, this unknown professor comes up to the podium and starts talking about jobs, about taking care of the next generation and making Minnesota a better place to live. It was freezing cold, but that speech fired us up." The following year, the feisty orator declared his candidacy. Seizing an opportunity to send a strong friend of labor to Washington, AFSCME members rolled up their sleeves and marched on to victory.

Observes Chris Cowen, AFSCME's Minnesota political action director, "Paul Wellstone is the beacon that everybody is attracted to. He energizes our members and attracts those who wouldn't otherwise be involved in the political process."

Needed: 75-80 percent

Cowen estimates that 2.1 million Minnesotans will vote next month. At this writing, the latest polls show Wellstone leading Coleman by two points, or about 42,000 votes. By Cowen's calculations, AFSCME needs to turn out 75 to 80 percent of its 50,000 Minnesota members on Election Day in order to produce a Wellstone victory.

"We have the highest voter turnout in organized labor," Cowen notes. "We do this through member-to-member contact at worksites and door-to-door contact at home. That's why union voters in Minnesota make up the margin of victory, especially in close elections." In addition, part of AFSCME's strategy this year is to identify undecided voters and educate them about the issues.

"We are the shock troops of the labor movement in Minnesota," says Cliff Poehler, president of Council 14. "We have a database of 1,000 volunteers who can be mobilized at a moment's notice to distribute fliers, make phone calls or put up lawn signs."

At its convention last March, Council 14 Director Roger Siegal announced that "one of our biggest efforts will be to re-elect Paul Wellstone. With so much of our members' working lives and livelihoods riding on who gets elected and what type of legislation gets passed, we can't afford to sit on the sidelines." When Paul and Sheila Wellstone arrived at the gathering, members gave them a long, standing ovation.

*******

After more than six hours on the road, the green bus makes its last stop at Grandma's Café in Mora. The crowded coffee shop comes to life as the senator walks in, accompanied by State Sen. Becky Lowry, who introduces him. Wellstone gets right to the point: "What will make the difference in this election is not the radio and TV ads. It's you who will make the difference. We are poised to get everybody talking to everybody. … We are all connected. We will win this race!"

Among the greeters in Mora is Pam Lofquist, president of Local 1092 (Council 6). She took a leave of absence from her Department of Human Services job in Moose Lake so she can work full time on the campaign. "Wellstone has invigorated a lot of voters," she says. "And that is how he's going to win this race — person to person."

To sustain voter interest and motivation, Lofquist is working with four other full-timers, building broad coalitions with other labor and community groups, and deploying volunteers to do "lit drops" and "door knocks." Her assigned area covers 30 worksites from Cambridge to the Iron Range. "I also picket Norm Coleman events and throw hard questions at him. Our biggest challenge between now and November is to get our members motivated to go out and vote. If that happens, we win."

It's almost dark when the bus pulls away from Grandma's Café. Driver Paul Scott gives a thumbs up as he revs the little engine that could. Wellstone waves to his sup-porters, showing no sign of fatigue. "He's not a quitter," Lofquist says. "What will put him over is that he won't quit."

Minnesota members, if you see that green bus passing by, climb aboard!

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