NEWS

Locals forge grass-roots Bernie Sanders campaign

Sarah Taddeo
@sjtaddeo
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.,  speaks during a campaign stop Thursday in Philadelphia.

Kevin Sweeney has been praying that Bernie Sanders would run for president for the past six years.

Now the Sanders delegate from Rochester has gotten his wish and then some. Sanders has stirred up what some of his devotees call a “political revolution,” pulling in a diverse group of people who are desperate for stark honesty and serious change at the White House.

Sanders has hung on against Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton all primary season, taking surprising victories in the Wisconsin and Michigan primaries. While he’s still far behind in delegates, his supporters are hopeful that his authenticity and passion for equality will keep him afloat.

“Bernie’s woken people up,” said Mary Nicholas, 25, of Rochester. “Whether it’s the environment, women’s rights or racial injustice, he’s motivated people and actually taken action.”

5 reasons Rochesterians believe in Sanders

Sanders has focused on income inequality, social rights and justice issues, and the environment as his campaign platform. These views, combined with his dismissal of establishment politicking, have made him a fresh pick for voters sick of the status quo.

“Bernie represents more than whatever policies he’s suggesting,” said Timothy Kneeland, professor and chairman of the History and Political Science Department at Nazareth College.

“They think this is a real thing, that this is a revolution and his supporters will be there right to the end,” he said.

The Sanders movement in Rochester has been decidedly grass-roots, with volunteers knocking on thousands of doors in recent weeks and using social media to invite people to gatherings to discuss Sanders' values and campaign.

But his supporters are already largely well-informed of his policies, which seem to be in line with what many of his backers are already passionate about.

Dianne Stengel of Rochester  speaks an a Women for Bernie event in Rochester Wednesday.

Elizabeth Laidlaw, 56, of Rochester, is a Christian who has been a longtime advocate for children, which pushes her toward Sanders’ foreign policy and economic views.

“I think children don’t have a voice in this community, and he is supporting what children need,” Laidlaw said. She sometimes wears her Bernie button out and about, hoping to help quell public misconceptions about Sanders' or Clinton’s platforms through friendly conversation.

Rallies for Sanders seem to be built on conversation rather than grand shows of support, as demonstrated by a Women for Bernie event Wednesday. A panel of women, diverse in age and race, spoke on their personal ties to Sanders’ values and why other women should get on board. Three of them are Sanders delegates for the upcoming primary.

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Shirley Thompson, 65, of Rochester.

“The fact that the 1 percent is just doing its thing at the expense of people who live in my neighborhood doesn’t sit well with me,” said Shirley Thompson, 65, who lives in what’s known as the “Crescent of Poverty,” which covers city neighborhoods from the southwest to the northeast. Thompson is a leader for Black ROC for Bernie, a local group.

As an African-American woman, knowing that Sanders has consistently fought for civil and women’s rights for several decades is promising, she said.

In fact, Sanders’ consistency and authenticity throughout his political career and now into the presidential campaign circuit is one of his biggest draws, said Sweeney, 57, of Irondequoit. He is one of Sanders’ major political coordinators in the area.

“His platform hasn’t shifted with the times,” he said. “He stands on principles. If you want a candidate who has your best interests in mind, Sanders is your only candidate.”

Sanders has the numbers stacked against him delegate-wise, said Kneeland, but his approval level, at least among college students, is high.

“There’s very little enthusiasm for any candidate but Bernie,” he said. “There are some who wouldn’t vote for him, but they like him. And that says a lot.”

Currently Sanders has 1,030 delegates to Clinton’s 1,280, not including superdelegates. It’ll be a “miracle” if he clinches the nomination, said Kneeland, but if he makes it, he could shake things up, specifically on minimum wage and immigration reform.

“If he got to the White House, I don’t doubt that there would be big change,” he said.

STADDEO@Gannett.com