Walking the 29th Assembly District with Sean Fellows

Henderson- Although it's only mid-March, Sean Fellows is already knocking on doors in Assembly District 29, hoping to build the momentum to unseat Democratic Assemblywoman Susan Gerhardt come Nov. 4.

Fellows, a 27-year-old Air Force Reserve Captain, is considered one of the few bright spots for Nevada Republicans in an otherwise troubling year.  His campaign strategy relies on direct voter contact to build name recognition and hopefully peel away enough votes in his mildly Democratic district to lead him to an upset victory in the fall.  That direct voter contact centers on knocking on doors, practicing the old-school retail politics with modern technology and a personal touch.

PolitickerNV.com accompanied Fellows on an early afternoon walk of one of the district's precincts Thursday to see his brand of retail politics in action and get an idea of his burgeoning campaign.

Fellows, armed with a palm pilot and a stack of campaign literature, began his walk in Precinct 1460, a neighborhood of sandy and tan-colored houses just south of Interstate 215. 

His vote universe in the precinct consisted of all registered voters, without regard to party affiliation.  Considering it unlikely that he will face a primary challenge, Fellows is already going after Democratic and non-partisan voters, introducing himself without giving his party affiliation unless asked and passing out literature that doesn't identify him as a member of the GOP.  It's a good strategy for the 29th District, which is perennially competitive with a voter registration edge of just under 350 votes for the Democrats.

"The way I look at it," said Fellows, "I'm proud to be a Republican, but I will be serving my party best to be serving Nevada first.  It's clear once you go to my website that I don't hide from being a Republican.  For me to win, I need the support of Democrats in my district.  I want everybody to realize that I'm going to be their representative, not representing just a demographic."

Fellows' literature reflects this appeal across party lines with a focus on health care and education, issues traditionally identified with Democrats. 

"The reason I have those issues is I think those issues are important to all Nevadans," said Fellows.  "When people see those issues, some assume ‘Are you a Democrat?' because you're talking about these issues, you're not talking about immigration.  All these issues affect all of us, there are just different approaches.  There's a conservative approach and there's a liberal approach."

The first several homes Fellows approached had nobody home, so he left a literature piece at the doors, along with a hand-written note apologizing for missing them.  The hand-written note is an important part of Fellows' voter appeal.  People whom he is able to speak with can expect a hand-written post card in the mail as well, following up with any issues that they discuss and answering any questions he wasn't able to at the door.

"It's not just ‘okay, I'll get back to you'" said Fellows.  "My first day walking, one person had a community issue that he had a problem with.  I took his contact information and called a friend of mine at neighborhood services.  It's about being a conduit.  I may not be able to solve their problem, but I'll do everything I can.  I know how I would feel if somebody came to my door and I asked them something and they say they're going to get back to me but didn't."

After a few houses, Fellows finally found a voter at home and greeted her with a broad smile.

"Hello, I just came by to introduce myself before it gets too hot out here," said Fellows.  "I'm a candidate running for office in this district.  I live just a few miles from here and am hoping to represent my family and yours in the state Assembly."

Fellows handed the woman both his literature and a card with his personal contact information including (surprisingly to this reporter) his home address and telephone number.  Fellows is unscripted at the door, simply introducing himself and allowing the voters to ask him any questions they may have.

"I appreciate your time," said Fellows after patiently listening to the woman's concerns about community involvement.  "My website is there on the card and don't hesitate to call my home phone number.  Have a good day."

"Have you ever done public service before?" a man answering the next door asked.

"This is my first time running for office," said Fellows.

"Can you afford to?" the man asked with a grin.

"I'm an Air Force Reservist by profession, so I have the flexibility and time to do it."

"Well, good luck," said the man, extending his hand.

Most of Fellows' contacts were some variation on this theme, typically taking less than a minute at the door unless the voter had specific questions to ask of him.

Justine Matteis, 76, immediately asked Fellows his party identification and gladly accepted his literature once she learned he was a Republican.  Matteis told Fellows she had recently changed her party affiliation from Democratic to non-partisan and was fulsome about Fellows efforts to unseat a Democrat.

"Whatever you can do to stop this Obama ridiculous fruitless momentum, please do it before he destroys our country," said Matteis.  "How can we get the Democrats not in office?"

"Well, you can start by electing me to represent you in the Assembly," said Fellows.  "It happens one seat at a time.  We need to elect conservative values in the state legislature to congress and all the way up."

Fellows didn't limit his contacts to just people on his voter lists, but also stopped to speak with a man here changing his air filter, there putting mail in the mail box.

Whit Davis, 48, has lived in Henderson for eight years and appreciated the chance to speak personally with a candidate.

"I give a person a lot of credit who can go out and campaign in this day and age," said Davis after Fellows had continued to the next house.  "There's a lot of people who just try to get out there through other means, the internet and stuff.  Meeting somebody face to face tells somebody about somebody."

It's a sentiment that Fellows hopes to spread, reaching out for votes one handshake, palm pilot line and door at a time.