Reply #16: Justin Shields/John Kerry rally [View All]

[IA_Seth]

What a day!

First of all, turn-out wasn't quite as high as expected, I believe it had something to do with the frigid tempratures and biting wind we had going in the morning. We still managed to draw probably close to 200-300 people to an outdoor event, and we had a good time with free food and beverages, so it was a success.

Quite a few State Reps and State Senators attended, at least a couple county officials, several candidates for state races, and at least one from a US Rep race. It was a really great setting for a meet & greet and everyone was able to interact with their representatives in a pretty personal setting.

Mr Kerry spoke mostly of leadership and his friendship that he developed with Justin during his time campaigning in Iowa. He tried to keep it pretty non-partisan (Justin is running for a non-partisan city council seat), and actually pulled it off quite well.

Justin told the crowd a funny story about Kerry's time campaigning in Iowa. He was a Kerry supporter from the very beginning and said that after one particular media interview Kerry's people had approached him and said a few of the things he said were "off message" (or something like that) with what they wanted projected. At the time Kerry was running under 10% in Iowa, Dean and Gephardt were fighting it out at the top. Justin said he laughed, brought the numbers to Kerry's people's attention and asked "who exactly was off message?" Everyone got a kick out of that one!

Kerry spent quite a bit of time afterwards shaking hands, signing autographs, and talking to everyone in the crowd.

Overall it was a great event for Justin Shields! If by chance you are in Cedar Rapids and in the 5th district, please remember to vote for him on Nov-08!