PARTY WORKERS GEAR UP FOR VOTE

Behind all the political rhetoric, there is an army of volunteers and paid workers who do the heavy lifting in an election year.

Much of the nuts-and-bolts of electioneering flow out of campaign offices.

Both the Democrats and Republicans officially opened campaign offices Tuesday in Cape Girardeau with traditional ribbon-cutting ceremonies. The Democratic office actually has been up and running for several weeks.

The offices are only a few blocks apart: The Democrats are at 121 S. Broadview; the Republicans at 231 S. Broadview.

Both offices are interested in getting out the vote on Election Day, Nov. 5. Leaders in both parties say they can count on the help of hundreds of volunteers.

Kendra Foster heads up the Democratic Coordinated Campaign office, which helps its party's candidates throughout the sprawling 8th Congressional District of Southeast Missouri.

The local office is one of five such offices in the state; the others are at St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbia and Springfield.

"I promote everyone from (President) Clinton on down," said Foster.

Foster and her assistant are paid. But the campaign work depends largely on volunteers, many of them Southeast Missouri State University students, she said.

Foster served as a White House intern last fall. She took the campaign job after graduating from Southeast in August with degrees in political science and philosophy.

Stacks of campaign signs sit in a corner of the office. In another corner is a desk and computer that serve as the nerve center for the campaign of state senate candidate Rick Althaus.

Foster and others distribute campaign signs and go door-to-door in targeted areas on weekends and evenings, handing out campaign literature.

"We cover precincts targeted by the state party," said Foster.

In the 8th District, thousands of swing voters are being targeted in Cape Girardeau, Pemiscot, Dunklin, Stoddard, Scott, Phelps, St. Francois and Washington counties.

The campaign of 8th District congressional candidate Emily Firebaugh is doing the door-to-door work in Phelps, Washington and St. Francois counties.

Foster said some 5,000 swing voters have been targeted in Cape Girardeau, Scott and Stoddard counties.

In addition to personal visits, targeted voters in the 8th District will receive follow-up telephone calls and mailings.

Down the street at GOP headquarters, stacks of candidate signs covered a table.

Unlike the Democratic office, the Republican office's focus is on Cape Girardeau County.

But its office staff and volunteers are concentrating on more than county races: They hope to put Jo Ann Emerson over the top in her 8th District congressional race.

Cape Girardeau County typically accounts for about 12 to 14 percent of the voter turnout in the 26-county congressional district.

"That is a significant amount," said David Barklage, a local party leader and Cape Girardeau businessman who is helping direct the campaign office.

Barklage said the campaign office will focus on electing Emerson and re-electing state Sen. Peter Kinder.

"We have developed a phone-bank system backed by the latest technology to get out the vote," he said.

In the past the GOP office has concentrated largely on voters in Cape Girardeau. But with computerized voter registration lists, Republicans are targeting voters throughout the county this election year.

Barklage said they expect to telephone thousands of voters. The phone banks will operate largely at night.

Cape Girardeau County has a Republican base, but there are many swing voters.