Blog offers youthful election views

By Lucy Mohl
Senior news producer, Seattletimes.com

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In an election year both decisive and divisive, it seems time to hear from the sidelines.

Not from political activists, journalists or insiders, but from younger voters closely following the campaigns and who feel personally affected by the outcome.

In that vein, tomorrow The Seattle Times is launching the Backyard Blog project. A dozen-plus voters younger than 35, from across the region and across the political spectrum, will share their election-season experiences.

The idea is to find out what they're seeing and thinking, and what they hear others saying in the grocery store, the neighborhood cafe, their jobs and homes.

We sought younger writers to focus on a slice of the demographic pie that is statistically far less likely to vote than other age groups — and consequently, far less likely to be heard from this election season.

The blog (www.seattletimes.com/backyardblog) will appear as part of our overall election coverage on seattletimes.com (www.seattletimes.com/thebooth) and occasionally in the newspaper.

Live launch tomorrow The Backyard Blog, a group of young writers from across the region and across the political spectrum, will give us their views and insights throughout the 2004 election season. The Backyard Blog goes live tomorrow and can be found at www.seattletimes.com/backyardblog.

A call to potential bloggers went out on seattletimes.com in early July, asking applicants about themselves and their views on major issues. From the scores of applications we received, the final group was chosen on the basis of writing skills, with a balance of political views factored in.

"This election excites me," wrote Michael Moretsky, a left-leaning, unaffiliated voter from Seattle, "because I love to vote. That is an unusual thing to say, but I do enjoy exercising this right. I love having a ballot in front of me and making the best decision I can. What I find appalling about this election is the mud-slinging that is already going on."

"The 2004 election is a turning point for our nation," wrote Garrett Ferencz of Kirkland, who describes himself as a young, conservative, Republican civil-rights lawyer, who "dances with these labels every day at work" and keeps a signed photo of President Bush hidden in his office.

Will Mari, 18, another Republican, living in Snoqualmie and preparing to vote for the first time, wrote, "I've always had a voice, but now I can act, and I will have the extreme privilege and honor to do so come November."

For Anna Kleppert, 22, a liberal Democrat and graduate of Gonzaga University in Spokane — who proposed to blog in the midst of a cross-country road trip — "it was exciting to find that most people on our campus were 'either/or' but were also very informed and passionate about their idea. ... It's exciting that there are so many people who care about the issues, if not the actual candidates."

In Kleppert's first post for the Backyard Blog, she writes about a friend who won't be voting in the presidential election: "This year something has changed. My friend is neither indifferent nor apathetic; he's just frustrated."

Capturing the excitement, the frustration, and even the indecision of our writers is the mission of the Backyard Blog.

Libby Liming of Bellevue, for example, is that rarest of creatures in this year's campaign season: the voter who describes herself as "straight down the center" and has yet to make her presidential pick.

This contrasts with the stance of Ian Stewart of Seattle, a Democrat "with a green tint" who is concerned about the lack of network television attention to the conventions: "Why are the major networks more interested in Who Wants to Marry my Bug-Eating Socialite? That's hot." (Note to the networks: The Republican National Convention will be the prime topic for the Backyard Blog this week).

Jay Porter, who has maintained his own blog, Nonfamous (www.nonfamous.com) since 2002, is also wondering about the media in this campaign: "The inability or unwillingness of the mainstream media to ask the tough questions — and keep asking them — is one of the main things that motivate me."

Sometimes the blog entries will be serious and focus on the national political debate, and sometimes, yes, they'll take their inspiration from sources such as Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," reflecting the desire of many voters to supplement their news and opinion from outside traditional sources.

Input from readers will be welcomed, and everyone who is interested is invited to read and respond to the Backyard Blog.

The variety of blog topics will be considerable, covering all levels of politics and state, regional and national issues. Sierra Michels-Slettvet, 19, a liberal from Edmonds, cites global warming and suburban sprawl as her two hot-button issues, while Matthew Ranger, 26, a Washington state native stationed with the U.S. Air Force in Missouri, puts foreign policy and taxes as his two highest concerns.

Stephanie Sanguinet, 22, a Republican from Bothell, finds herself and her friends preoccupied with the war in Iraq, which she sees as "a source of contention and debate within the 20-something community of Seattle ... as the presidential election nears, so does the idea that friends may be friends no longer after November."

Or, they may come to know each other better. As blogger Michael Moretsky notes, one of his co-workers in a nonprofit organization is a staunch conservative who listens to right-wing talk radio every day and yet is open about discussing his views:

"It takes guts to be the one political conservative in an office with 69 others leaning so far left our building may one day fall into Puget Sound. But where would we be without each other?"

Lucy Mohl: 206-464-2968 or lmohl@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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