Daryl Long, who works in environmental services at Maryland General Hospital in Baltimore, still smiles when he talks about being a Member Political Organizer (MPO) for Donna Edwards during her historic congressional campaign in February 2008.
"I felt a great sense of accomplishment when Donna Edwards won. It was even worth battling the elements!," says Daryl of the late winter campaign. "I felt that history was being made and that I was helping with an important part of it. It was my first time working on a political campaign. I really enjoyed all the new experiences that I had. I was just embracing it all."
Since being an MPO for Donna Edwards, Daryl says that he's become more interested in politics. "I try to keep up with what's going on," he says. That interest includes the presidential campaign and Barack Obama. "I'm so excited about Barack Obama. He's new and refreshing and has great ideas. And he's the whole world mixed up in one guy," says Daryl. "I will do anything to help him win – you can count on me."
Looking hopefully into the future, Daryl says that with an Obama presidency, "I have the sense that things are going to get better. I know that first he has to undo what George Bush has done, but I except to see families reunited when our soldiers come home from Iraq. And I know our pockets will feel fuller. Obama is going to put people right back where we need to be because for the last eight years, it's been about business, not Americans like me."
Daryl is currently enrolled in 1199SEIU's Training and Upgrading Fund's CNA/GNA classes, so he won't be able to spend several weeks in the field like some other MPOs. That doesn't mean he won't be helping, though. Daryl plans to work on 1199SEIU's local campaign outreach, knocking on doors in Pennsylvania and Virginia, hopefully with son Dorian, 14.
He says, "I love my Union and will do whatever is needed. I've been loving the presence of my Union at campaign events. Wherever you see Obama, you see purple and yellow."
Drawing parallels between the campaigns of Donna Edwards and Barack Obama, Daryl says, "Donna won at the grassroots because people felt her realness. Obama gives people the same feeling and it makes you feel part of something big."
