WA Blog Series: Odalis Octaviano
Hello! My name is Odalis Octaviano (she/her/ella) and I am a canvas lead this year for the Washington Weekends of Action for the Yakima Valley/legislative district 14.
I was inspired to sign up for the canvas lead position through MJ from CP. I was able to accompany her and a group last year in Sunnyside,WA as we canvassed the local school board elections. It was my first experience of canvassing and I loved the connection and my time with not only the voters of the doors we knocked on but also the team engagement with the rest of the group!
It felt rewarding to be able to inform registered voters and empower their voices in their communities.
As a canvas lead for this season, I enjoy helping make sure each volunteer is equipped with the necessary tools they need to have fun and know what to do while canvassing this district! I love being able to support the work being done in this district because it is incredible to be seeing the change and progress of voters feeling inspired or motivated to vote for these candidates
Legislative District 14 is unique because it has undergone some redistricting changes to help make sure the voters and leaders are able to represent and accommodate for the large Latine population in this area. This district is also made up of agricultural workers and smaller towns that are often not as connected to their political leaders when it comes to decision making. We are all hoping this new election brings along a change to all of this! Maria Beltran, a candidate whose campaign we are working with, won the majority vote during the primary elections which we also helped support in weeks leading up to the primary elections, which was such a huge and important win and a step forward for the general election! This win also showed that this election can be a short race but nonetheless has motivated us to continue to campaign and volunteer for a genuine candidate who is wanting to uplift and support the communities in this district.
We have had an overall very positive response at the doors, with registered voters who have been welcoming, inviting and eager to speak about important issues that they care about!
This population often does not get asked personally what their issues are of importance for, so it’s amazing to see how much each person shares about their life stories and hometown communities.
We have also seen how diverse the district is in its underlying issues from public safety, sanitation, education and worker’s rights. I’ve had experiences with voters where they were willing to express previous frustrations with their community elections due to a lack of change, and nonetheless people are still excited about a candidate who is truly genuine and wants to bring change to the district by increasing inclusivity and bringing more people into these conversations!
As someone who has family across this district, it’s been incredible to be able to have this engagement and connection with these communities to increase voter engagement in this area.
If you are considering volunteering with this district please sign up, even just for a day, there’s so much work to do right here in this state to give a voice to these underrepresented communities for these progressive leaders such as Maria Beltran! We are working with an awesome campaign and it’s so nice to see candidates canvass with their teams and to hear directly from them about their goals and plans for this district!
