Santa Rosa man knocking on doors in Nevada for Kamala Harris

Chris Mazzia argues that what he does is not that important.

I beg to differ.

In the biggest elections, it’s efforts like his that make the biggest deals.

Mazzia, a lawyer who lives in Santa Rosa, is making his second trip to Nevada in a month to pave the way for democracy.

He will travel about 230 miles each way to walk the streets, knock on doors and talk to strangers. All in support of Kamala Harris. All in support of democracy. All in support of the future of this nation.

Nevada, deep blue California’s closest neighbor, is one of seven states likely to determine the next president of the United States.

Voters in Nevada, as well as Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia, are considered key to winning the 270 electoral votes and the presidency.

And there’s too much at stake, Mazzia said, to sit at home.

“You watch the news or you read the newspaper and you take all your feelings, your worries, and you say, ‘Okay, what should I do?’ How do I channel this?’” he said. “I might get upset. I can grumble with my friends. But hey, I could do something.

So Mazzia clicked the “Volunteer” button on Harris’ campaign page.

Four years ago, Democrats — or at least Joe Biden’s campaign — abruptly scaled back their so-called ground game because of the pandemic. It’s clear that this choice was made out of an abundance of caution, but it also hampered what had for decades been considered a Democratic strength: the shoe leather campaign.

Under Vice President Harris, it’s back in play. Whether it’s the Harris campaign itself or other groups like Seed the Vote and Indivisible, Democrats are once again walking into neighborhoods, posting signs on doors and trying to get out the vote.

“Inaction is unacceptable,” Mazzia said.

His wife writes cards in support of Harris. Other people write checks or make phone calls. Mazzia’s comfort zone includes walking areas.

“I thought, ‘Okay, there’s no point in doing anything here in California. I will enter the battlefield state.”

Walking the talk.

He is not new to this practice. He ran for local candidates in Sonoma County for years and ran for Supreme Court judge in 2010.

But a few months ago, he decided to press the “volunteer” button.

“They ask you, ‘What do you want to do?’ Do you want to make phone calls? Send messages? Should I have some coffee?

Mazzia noted that he would like to go to the polls, or, in campaign strategist jargon, “campaign.”

“You’re not Taylor Swift or Bruce Springsteen, so do what you’re comfortable with,” he said. “I like to walk around the city and I like to meet people, so that’s fine with me.”

He completed the training via Zoom. He saw that several others were from Sonoma County. He learned some talking points and was trained on an app the Harris campaign uses to understand and record voters’ issues and concerns.

And he went.

“You go to your local office and I was lucky enough to have a partner from Idaho and we loaded up in her car,” he said. “You download the app, enter the area and say, ‘OK, let’s go.’ You take the odds, I take the odds, and we meet in half an hour or an hour.”

In this case, volunteers were asked only to knock on doors of registered Democrats and perhaps some independents.

“They will be registered voters,” he said. “These are people who have voted in the past and are typically Democrats, Independents, Libertarians and the like. So knock on the door and see what happens.”

Some open their doors to him. Some are doing it. Other doors will remain closed at the sight of a stranger, in which case Mazzia will write a short note on a Kamala Harris campaign flyer, tape it to the door, and move on.

He will do this for hours.

If Mazzia confirms support for the Harris/Waltz ticket, he moves on to the second phase of the conversation: Are they going to vote? Do they have a voting plan? Do they have last minute questions?

And even among those voters who call themselves staunch Harris supporters, Mazzia has to wonder why. What issues really affect them?

“I asked several strong advocates, what helps you make a decision, what excites you, what keeps you up at night, what worries you about this election?” – he said.

All this information was taken into account and passed on to the Harris campaign.

“The people at the top analyze it all: what’s on their mind? What are the obstacles to their withdrawal? – said Mazzia.

Mazzia hopes that simply showing up and being willing to participate can provide confidence that can make a difference, he said.