OU College Democrats and Republicans continue offering support to their candidates for city offices.
From helping with campaigns to running their own, students are getting involved in the race for Athens' seats.
Aaron Dauterman, a senior studying communication studies and a candidate for councilman at-large, is the only student — and the only Republican — running for an elected position in the city.
“There were some people, before the summer, that just probably thought of me as being … a student candidate that probably wasn’t going to engage with the community a whole lot,” Dauterman said.
However, Dauterman spent the summer knocking on doors and talking to voters. People were welcoming and willing to discuss the issues, he said.
Dauterman said he started watching city council meetings during his sophomore year and didn’t care for the direction the administration was taking the city toward. He added that he was first concerned with the city’s trash can and noise ordinances.
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Since then, Dauterman said more issues have risen.
“I felt like being young, I would have what it takes and have the energy to run a successful campaign, but also bring some new ideas to the table and try to break up the groupthink that is currently occurring in city council,” Dauterman said.
Anna Lippincott, president of College Republicans, said the group supports Dauterman and plans on helping him with door-to-doors and lit drops.
“I can tell you now I have a ‘Vote Aaron Dauterman’ sign in my front yard,” Lippincott said.
Dauterman’s campaign is preparing to roll out Bobcats for Aaron, a grassroots outreach to encourage students who normally don’t vote to “take an active stance in the democratic process,” Dauterman said.
Several members of College Republicans agreed to help spearhead the initiative, he added.
Councilman Steve Patterson, D-At Large and the unopposed candidate for mayor, had several students working on his campaign.
“I had six students who had helped me with my campaign. They actually came to me through Dr. J.W. Smith’s campaign class,” Patterson said.
Those students helped Patterson with various aspects of his campaign during spring semester, which included fundraising and social media presence. Three of the six students continued working with him beyond spring semester, voluntarily and for class credit.
Student involvement allows students to see the inner workings of a campaign, Patterson said. One of the students who worked on the campaign in the spring went on to work for Sen. Ted Strickland’s campaign.
The College Democrats have been focusing their efforts on voter registration.
The group will work more with individual candidates after the October deadline for registration passes, Andrew Price, the director of communication for College Democrats, said.
“We’ll help any candidate with any event. … We’ll help them out in any way we can.” Price said. “We’ll be their foot soldiers.”
This will include knocking on doors and handing out flyers. The College Democrats will offer support for all the Democratic candidates running, although some individuals have personally been supporting Patrick McGee, an independent running for council-at-large.
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