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New Yorkers leaving mark in Iowa

By David Freedlander | dfreedlander@am-ny.com

January 3, 2008

New Yorkers who can't wait for the Feb. 5th primary here have decided to decamp for Iowa to brace the bitter cold and stump for their favorite candidate.

"Here I feel like I can do something. If I was back home I would just be sitting around watching and waiting," said Steven Latasa-Nicks, 42, of the West Village, on the eve of today's caucus, the first balloting of the presidential election year.

He took a leave of absence from his management consultant firm to work 12-hour days knocking on doors for Democratic Sen. Barack Obama.

"The energy is incredible here. Iowans have a significant voice in presidential elections," he said. "In New York, we don't vote until later, so we don't have as strong a voice."

Most campaigns like to say that theirs are home-grown operations, and don't need help from any outsiders, so many don't keep track of how many New Yorkers are out in the cornfields volunteering.

Plus, in 2004, Democratic hopeful Howard Dean flooded Iowa with young, out-of-state volunteers. They clearly didn't help and he finished a disappointing third,

"The problem with the Deaniacs was that they were culturally dissimilar from people in Iowa," said Christopher Hull, author of "Grassroots Rules: How the Iowa Caucus Helps Elect American Presidents."

"Having people from Berkeley in dreadlocks and tie-dyes isn't the best idea on caucus night."

Hull, a professor at Georgetown University, gave a lecture to a student volunteer entitled: "How Not To Offend Iowans If You're a New Yorker."

"Frankly, I think a lot of campaigns would prefer New Yorkers send checks rather their have their presence on the trail," he said.

Chris Allen, a spokesman for the Iowa Democratic party, agreed.

"Iowans like to be talked to by other Iowans. It really is a different mentality out here, and not having the right people can be a detriment."

But still, Daniel Selsam, 23, of the Upper East Side, drove out a week ago to help Ron Paul's campaign, and has been bunking in a YMCA camp with more than 20 volunteers to a room.

"I'd been pretty pessimistic about the way this country has been going," he said. "It's been an education and it's been a lot of fun out here. I've gotten to see stars, I don't get to do that much in New York."

With the Iowa Caucus out of the way, Selsam thinks he'll next drive to New Hampshire to help with the primary there on Jan. 8.

Selsam many be joined by Rebecca Zepick, 29, of the Upper West Side.

She left her job as an attorney at a white-shoe law firm six weeks ago to help Republican Sen. John McCain and is now living six to a room at an apartment the campaign is renting.

"I miss Riverside Park, and I never thought I'd say it, but I miss the subways," Zepick said.

But she did say that it's been an experience, including getting a surprise call from the State Department to find out what the campaign's plans for the international press corps were.

"It's a spectacle," she said. "But I guess I'd rather live a life doing things I believe in."