Nicole Yates is a Hoosier on a mission.
She works seven days a week with one goal in mind — seeing Sen. Barack Obama become the next president of the United States.
The lifelong New Albany resident is working Monday through Friday in Obama’s Indianapolis headquarters as director of scheduling. On weekends, she volunteers at the Obama office located at 404 E. Main St. in New Albany.
“I’m really fortunate and blessed to be a part of this,” Yates said, adding she began following Obama during his Senate run.
Before working with Obama’s campaign for presidency, Yates filled a similar role with Rep. Baron Hill’s office in Jeffersonville.
Yates recently discussed her interests and role with the Obama campaign in an interview with The Evening News and The Tribune as part of its weekly question and answer series.
Question: What got you started in politics?
Yates: “I’ve always been interested in being a public servant and I worked on some local campaigns and just really wanted to make a difference. I thought learning and brushing up on politics and getting involved would prepare me to be a servant to my community and an advocate for people that feel like they don’t have a voice.”
Q: How long have you been involved in politics?
Yates: “Probably for the last 10 to 12 years.”
Q: Talk about your experiences, especially the ones that stand out.
Yates: “I’ve had some really good experiences as far as being in politics. I worked for Congressman (Baron) Hill and that’s just a really good experience to be able to help people with all sorts of issues with the government and being an advocate for them is really exciting.
“I’ve worked on some local campaigns which have been fun and also being president of the New Albany NAACP has also allowed me to be an advocate and a public servant.”
Q: What have you found the most response to — federal, regional or local issues?
Yates: “I think the local issues are what people can put their hands on because they can be involved with it directly. There are national issues that people do care about, for example the war in Iraq, jobs and health care. However, property taxes is an issue here and people care about that.”
Q: How did you become involved with the Obama campaign?
Yates: “I helped a lot in the primary and wanted to be a part of history. This is something that I was really excited about and I’m not supporting Barack Obama because he’s African-American. He’s absolutely smart, he’s prepared for the job and he’s capable.
“But one of the things I really like about this is for the African-American community. When we tell our children that you can be anything you want, that includes president of the United States, and never before have we been able to say that. This is part of history and it’s an exciting time. Our country, we need change and this is what people need.”
Q: What are some of the roles you’ve served in the Obama campaign?
Yates: “During the primary, I worked in New Albany and Jeffersonville, knocking on doors, phone banking — anything I could do, including manning the office to help.
“Then I got the opportunity to work for the state campaign as director of scheduling for the Indiana Obama Campaign for Change. I handle logistics when Sen. Obama or any surrogate comes into the state on behalf of Sen. Obama. I work on those schedules to make sure the trip runs smoothly.”
Q: Was this role a goal of yours?
Yates: “I did scheduling for Congressman Hill, so I had some experience with scheduling and the opportunity came up and I was pretty excited to be a part of it. With Congressman Hill’s blessing, I was able to do that.”
Q: Do you hope to work for Obama if he’s elected?
Yates: “I don’t know what the future holds. I’m planning to be back at Congressman Hill’s office on Nov. 10, and we’ll see what happens. I didn’t take this role to get a job, I took it because I said I would do whatever I could to help Sen. Obama get elected. It was just to be a part of history.”
Q: What are some of the issues you hear the most about in the office?
Yates: “It’s all types of issues, but mainly we have people who come in and say they’re frustrated with the economy and they want to help make a difference.”
Q: What advice do you give to people who feel disenfranchised by politics?
Yates: “I would invite them to come and be a part of something and get involved. When they get involved, they will certainly be heard because they can express their feelings. I would say the Obama campaign is awesome because everyone can get involved.”
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