Mayor Christine Hunschofsky and Mayor Pete Buttigieg [courtesy}
By Jill Fox
With news still surrounding the delay in the reporting of the results of the Iowa Caucus, Parkland Mayor Christine Hunschofsky said that to her, the entire process seemed very well-organized.
“In the precinct that I was in, the process itself was very transparent,” said Hunschofsky, who believed the reported issues weren’t with the caucus or the counting, they were the result of transmitting the information through the app.
Hunschofsky traveled to Des Moines with a group of campaign volunteers from all over Florida and said she just always wanted to see the caucus process up close.
“Since I’m a supporter of Pete [Buttigieg], I felt like it was the perfect year to have the experience at the Iowa Caucus,” said Hunschofsky, who publicly endorsed him following last summer’s debates in Miami.
Hunschofsky first met Buttigieg at The United States Conference of Mayors in June of 2017. The conference, an official non-partisan organization of cities with populations of at least 30,000, is attended by over 1,400 mayors from across the United States.
The primary roles of the conference are advocacy, best practices, promoting the city, and networking.
While caucusing in Des Moines, the mayor took to Twitter to report on her whereabouts. On February 2, she tweeted, “TeamPete is excited, energized, showing up everywhere and doing the work.”
Mayor Hunschofsky volunteering to support Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
On February 3, “It’s Iowa Caucus Day, and we are ready for the final push to canvas and phone bank for Pete Buttigieg.”
As a volunteer in Ankeny, Iowa, Hunschofsky was responsible for greeting people, directing them where to go, and helping with registration.
The check-in process utilized different color wristbands for volunteers, voters, and people who were there to caucus. She said the doors closed at 7 p.m., and everyone went into the gymnasium to observe.
“It was a well-organized, orderly process as people went to different areas in the gym to show support for their candidates,” she said.
During the first round, representatives from all the campaigns counted people to make sure it was a very fair process. After determining which candidates were viable, by meeting a certain threshold of votes, representatives for each remaining candidate made a one-minute persuasive speech on why voters should move to their sides. Then, the counting was repeated. Finally, those numbers would be translated into the number of delegates.
“It was really interesting to watch, because here, people go and vote, and no one really knows how they voted,” Hunschofsky said, “It’s very fascinating to watch people very openly stand for their candidates.”
She said it was a great way to have the experience of seeing the caucus by actually being there on behalf of a candidate she thinks so highly of.
Author Profile
- Jill Fox is an Emmy Award-winning writer and producer. She has worked in public relations and television for over 20 years. Fox lives in Parkland with her husband and their two children.
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