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Sarah Bruch recently graduated from Camp Wellstone Raleigh in March 2008. Sarah attended the training to help prepare for her candidacy for State Assembly in Hudson, Wisconsin. Her supportive family, who also double as part of her campaign staff, participated in the Campaign Worker track. Her mother, Liz, her father, Daniel, also her treasurer, and her campaign manager and sister, Angela Bruch spent the weekend working as a team honing their skills for the campaign trail.
Wellstone Action caught up with the Bruch family to learn more about the campaign and to hear how their recent Camp Wellstone training is being put to use.
For Sarah, the decision to run was easy. She has spent her career working in both the for-profit and non-profit environments, and always, as she says, "with a commitment of advocating for those who were afraid to use their voice or who were unable to." With her father, she founded Live Liberal, a web-based company promoting liberal-based ideology that eventually transformed into a storefront-The Purple Tree specialty shop in Hudson, selling merchandise that also advocates for peace, social justice, Fair Trade, and the environment.
"Having lived in the community for the past fifteen years, I've been really disappointed that I haven't seen our representatives taking on that role as advocates for the people. I feel the voice that really needs to be reflected is the voice of the people, and so it was a natural lead for me to move into this new venue and new opportunity," Sarah explained.
Sarah's campaign, in reality, is more of a family affair. They celebrated her decision to run, then reflected on the time and effort. "It just made complete sense we would do this as a team," Angela commented. Sarah echoed that sentiment: "When I considered running, it was never a question of who I would ask. I could count on them. We have the same vision and passion."
So it was fitting for them all to attend Camp Wellstone, even if it meant traveling to North Carolina just to fit it in their busy campaign schedule. "The skills that we were introduced to in three days, I can't tell you how many times I've pulled pieces from that training and been able to use," Sarah said.
Daniel commented on Sarah's new skills being put to use, including a situation in which she affirmed a reluctant volunteer of the necessity of talking to voters door to door. He also mentioned her ability to pivot and stay on message.
Sarah would agree, too, that the training is making a difference and it started immediately at Camp Wellstone as the family rallied around and sharpened her campaign plan, refined her stump speech, and generated ideas to bring back to their media contacts and volunteers.
For this family of teachers, Camp Wellstone stood out because it offered the opportunity to put the skills they were learning into practice right away. As Sarah said, "You have to get out of your comfort zone enough to knock on a door at a training or face a press conference crisis." Facing it in training has made the real-life situations much easier.
The next months ahead are full of challenge and opportunity for the Bruch's. Sarah is making sure her vision and mission are clear while taking on her opponent, a ten-year incumbent. With excitement, they shared news that their campaign headquarters will open soon, the volunteer base is growing, and they are continuing to put to use their Camp Wellstone knowledge with radio ads to hit the airwaves soon.
"We feel the momentum building," Sarah said. Camp Wellstone "gave us something we never had-concentrated time to immerse ourselves for three days. It was really a huge transition point for the campaign." The Bruch campaign is definitely one to keep an eye on.
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