Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Political Debate Planning 101: Learning by Doing

Photos and story by James Hill

By Mark EvertzDo the microphones work? Check ? 1, 2; Check 1,2.Are there enough chairs? Plenty.Are the cable-access guys ready? Yep.Which candidates will come? All but one.Are people going to show up? Nail-biting time.All of these things, and other organizational minutia, are flooding the brains of PCC student organizers Jesse Lohrke and Michael Anderson as they prepare for their first foray into political forum planning."It’s always a little easier in the concept phase,"kidded Lohrke. "Then things always just pop up."Lohrke, Anderson and a small army of volunteers were nailing down the last-minute details just before Oregon’s Republican gubernatorial candidates took the stage at Rock Creek Campus.The political neophytes decided way back in November 2001 that an all-encompassing issues forum with Republican and Democratic candidates would be a great way to buff up their r’sum’s, and maybe have an impact on the political process. By Christmas, the guys were in full planning – and learning – mode.Who’s running? How do we find that information? Who do we call? When do we do this? Anderson and Lohrke admittedly didn’t have a clue."A lot of that stuff just seems so trivial,"Anderson said, then Lohrke broke in, "Until you spend all night looking for it."When they did find out where to start, the guys received encouragement and advice from many of the campaign managers for the gubernatorial candidates. "They told us the dates, who to contact, how to come across and how to keep the media involved,"Anderson said. "The campaign managers were really helpful."With a battle plan in place, the newly directed duo went to work on the format. One thing they both agreed on was that they had to make these events, on April 19 for Republican candidates, the other on April 26 for the Democratic candidates, accessible to anybody who wanted to view and understand them. Tualatin Valley Community Access Television was a willing participant in this effort. Not only would they agree to assist in broadcasting the forums locally, but also offer them up to cable stations throughout Oregon.Now that people could see, hear or read the event (courtesy of American sign language interpreters on site) all over Oregon, the focus shifted to the candidates. One thing that Lohrke wanted was a forum where all candidates had a voice, not just the front-runners. "Jesse was much more adamant about getting every candidate here,"said Anderson. . "I had no idea it would be such a big deal getting everyone involved."That "big deal"took the form of at least one of the top candidates not accepting their invitation. "An acceptable loss,"Lohrke and Anderson said in unison.For them, the forum became more about access than popularity."Everyone who is running should have their voices heard,"Lohrke said enthusiastically. "The system is set up so that only the big spenders get heard."Anderson and Lohrke were doing what they could to change that. With the candidates in place and all of the other logistics – including having the events translated for Spanish-speaking viewers – the only thing left was the event itself.Showtime!It’s 6:15 p.m. on April 19 and Anderson’s arms are loaded with bottled water for the candidates. He’s darting back and forth to attend to details as unforeseen as marking time cards for candidates so their answers don’t run long. At five minutes until the event, he says, when asked how it’s going, "I’m frazzled. We need more people here." Lohrke’s no less harried. His face sags a bit. A few minutes until show time there are too many yellow seats without bodies in them. The candidates trickle in.An announcement that the event is about to begin moves stragglers to their seats and the candidates to the stage. All in all, the rows near the front fill up nicely. Not bad for just after work on a Friday night in the land of Highway 26. "It was so exciting and more stressful than I thought,"Anderson admitted, "but all-in-all, I’m really happy."Lohrke echoed his partner’s sentiments."I’m happy, very happy,"he said. "It filled up once we got going."For Lohrke, the learning experience on these forums could take the politically motivated 26-year-old to new heights. He’s considering either getting involved in politics himself, or planning similar events in the future."I do want to get into politics and this type of project really helped me learn more about what I want to do,"he said.After another year at PCC, Lohrke plans to major in political science at Hawaii Pacific University.Anderson, 22, also has high hopes, including attendance at an Ivy League school and working on the economic development of Third World countries. "This was such an awesome idea, the best project I’ve ever done,"said an enthused Anderson. "I learned so much and now I’ll be able to apply these skills in so many different areas."