Orchestrating a Campaign

And even though when all is said and done, it will be Johnson or Young with the spot in student government, both Jones and Nelson said they loved the ride on which student government elections has taken them, and both give their jobs ringing endorsements.

Matt Jones

This summer senior Matt Jones has plans to say "I do."

And standing by will be an usher whom he spent months supporting during a race for student body president.

It's this support, Jones says, that's the key to any good campaign. "It has to be a strong personal partnership for it to work," he said.

Jones and Young both served in the Cabinet of Nic Heinke, former student body president -- Jones as vice chairman of external relations and Young as an executive assistant.

But the two wanted to see more out of Suite C. "We left there kind of disenchanted at what student government could do," the political science major said.

So the roommates took a year off, and before Winter Break, Jones recalls Young saying, "Matt, I think I'm going to do it, and I want you to be my campaign manager."

The choice was easy. The answer was "yes." And it was off to the races.

"I really believe in him, his integrity and the change that he'll bring to the office," said Jones, who has also been active in Young Democrats. "I didn't hesitate to get involved."

First, it was to round up some troops by gathering volunteers, which Jones said ranged from 150 to 200 people, and finding out what students wanted from their government.

Campaigning officially began Jan. 23, when hopefuls announced their candidacy. And the three-week rush leading up to election day was nonstop, Jones said.

Zoom in on these weeks, and one will find each day for a campaign manager contains a lot of activity. Jones would begin the day by reading elections news, then tend to e-mails and return messages.

Afternoons meant hitting campus for campaigning. Whether it was the Pit, the quad or South Campus, Jones had to have someone somewhere.

"There's a new wrinkle every day," he said. "A new challenge to deal with, a new fight to fight. It was exciting."

Then there was what Jones called, the "mid-campaign slump," when election season started taking its toll and he missed a large amount of class.

But Jones said the good times outweighed the bad and kept him in the game -- especially the feedback from students and Tuesday's results. "Those moments were brief and rare that we regretted taking on this fight."

Jones said he "loves this stuff" and is looking forward to a "creative" last stretch of the campaign.

Then it's back to the basics for Jones. He said, "I'll sleep for a day, and then I'll start writing my thesis."

Tim Nelson

Tim Nelson wasn't involved in the student government scene before this semester, let alone election season.

The rules, the posters, the e-mails, the candidates, the endorsements -- it wasn't for him.

So the junior planned on life as usual through this year's election until Eric Johnson asked him to be his campaign manager in September.

Fast-forward five months.

Now the journalism major is in the middle of a sea of student elections full of banners, volunteers, forums and photo-ops. "It's your job, with the help of a lot of others, to do all you can to make sure ... you get the best results possible on election day," he said.

This meant getting up early to send e-mails, contacting volunteers, checking in with Johnson and tabling in the Pit from 9:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.

Evenings consisted of contacting constituents door to door and facing forums when necessary. But as Nelson puts it, he "just makes sure that everything is running as smooth as possible."

And Tuesday night -- which Nelson started preparing for at 5:30 a.m. -- Johnson eased his way into the runoff for student body president, giving Nelson another week of campaigning.

"We want to continue what we've been doing, but we want to build on it," he said.

Nelson said the past weeks have included some energy-draining times, but jumping ship was not an option. He said he truly believes in what Johnson can do if elected and that this experience was extremely positive. "The idea of stopping never crossed my mind. It was too much fun," he said.

Tuesday, things will come to an end of sorts for Nelson -- no more buttons, no more signs, no more campaigning.

And Nelson's not looking for anything more. "I'm not in this to get appointed to any position in student government," he said.

Among the positive experiences Nelson said he gained from being a campaign manager was the chance to learn more about leadership, the University and the diverse people who attend UNC.

"I'll sit back and remember this campaign with a smile of thanks to all of the incredible people with whom I've had the chance to work," he said.

Once Nelson crosses the last elections-related activity off his to-do list, the next entry is catching up on reading and getting back to life as usual.

"I really enjoyed this run with doing politics," Nelson said. "Being a journalism major, however, it'll be fun to get back to covering politics rather than being involved in it."

The Features Editor can be reached

at features@unc.edu.