Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Berlin.
Jason, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was a TV writer for 18 years when Trump got elected – and that broke my mind and heart. After the initial coma of mourning started to wear off, I threw myself into volunteering with Swing Left and learned everything I could about how to register Democrats. After a year, I managed to get a job with the CA Democratic Party as Regional Organizer for LA County, with my amazing co-organizer Michael Tonetti. In the lead-up to the midterms, we rallied a volunteer army who registered 6000+ progressive voters across the five swing districts of Southern CA – and helped flip them all! Helping to turn Orange County blue and swing the 25th district for Katie Hill was the proudest and most meaningful work of my life.
After the midterms, my job with the party ended, but the work had to go on. So Michael Tonetti and I founded Field Team 6, a national volunteer army with a simple mission: Register Democrats. Save the world.
By targeting places that need Democrats most, we aim to take the White House, flip the Senate, and expand our House majority.
We’ve been around four months, and we already have chapters in 4 states – California, Arizona, Maine, and Pennsylvania. In that time, we’ve registered 2,338 progressive voters in these crucial battlegrounds. And we’re scaling up all the time so that we can do some powerful good in the Battle of 2020.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Registering voters is one of the most satisfying things you can do. But it’s also hard work. Getting out there 3-4 times a week every week for months was the hardest thing I’ve ever done until now. Now the biggest challenge is building a national organization. That means writing 70 emails a day. Waking up at 5 am to prep for 6 am calls with the East Coast. Prepping 30 clipboards at 2 am for tomorrow’s voter drive. Training up new team leaders to grow the organization and planning constant fundraisers to keep our organization above water.
Still, there is absolutely nothing I’d rather be doing. Our organizers and volunteer heroes are the most inspiring people I’ve met in my life. So I get to work with my heroes every day.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Field Team 6 story. Tell us more about the business.
Field Team 6 specializes in registering Democrats in districts and states that need them most. We don’t knock on doors. We go to high-traffic areas, or “hot spots,” like colleges or courthouses. And we’re an anti-table organization – we never sit at a table and wait for people to ask us to dance. We rove around with a clipboard and a smile and talk to whoever we can. Another thing that sets us apart from other voter registration outfits is that we are not only relentlessly positive – we are also proudly Democratic. We wear liberal-looking t-shirts and hats, and we ask people things like “Can I register you as a Democrat today?” Or “Can you help me save the world from Trump?” All these techniques together make us super effective – and we’re always open to learning new things!
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I do feel like the luckiest person in the world because of the incredible people I have met over the last two and a half years. That’s the silver lining of this current dark time. The men and (mainly) women from all walks of life who have emerged as heroes in this fight. The pain woke us up – and the resistance made us family. I am super proud to call these people my friends. And man, I wouldn’t want to be fighting against us.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.fieldteam6.org
- Phone: 3103846374
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fieldteam6/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fieldteam6/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/fieldteam_6
- Other: https://bit.ly/2YcD078
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