Independent upstart hopes to take on Douglas via Facebook

Independent gubernatorial candidate Sam Young is asking supporters to write him in on the Republican ballot during the primary election on Sept. 9. But he is spreading his word through a newer and rather untraditional method: Facebook.

Young’s campaign has relied heavily on the social networking site as a vehicle to directly market to his supporters.

“I don’t think any of the candidates use the medium well,” Young said to PolitickerVT.com in a phone interview Thursday. “I want to be the first on the scene with this for getting independent candidates and start to break apart the two-party system.”

He has created a network on Facebook that includes about 1,200 members. Young also has a personal profile page to connect with Vermont voters that includes several ways to directly contact him and discuss issues. Young utilizes Facebook as a supplement to his actual campaign website, www.samyoungforgovernor.com.

Young is not the first candidate running for office to connect with young voters on Facebook; in fact increasingly more politicians and candidates across the nation are using it. Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas (R-Middlebury) has a politician fan support group on Facebook, but does not have a personal page like Young.

The 30-year-old web developer from Glover says he has a strong base in the Northeast Kingdom region of Vermont and expects a fair turn out of supporters to the polls on Sept. 9. He described the normal participation in a primary as centered on people who are already politically active. Since the choices for governor are limited, he can see a lot of people switching over to vote in the Republican Party, he said.

The Vermont Primary is open so voters can write anyone in on the ballot.

"In the spirit of Fred Tuttle politics, I urge you to take a Republican ballot and write me in," Young said in a statement Monday. "This is a referendum on Jim Douglas' governorship, and our best chance as concerned voters to defeat him in this race".

Young said he wants to promote open democracy, respond to the youth movement, support the integration of E-commerce for small business, provide food security, and fund investment in clean, sustainable energy systems.

"This is about a fifth generation Vermonter taking on a wealthy politician from Massachusetts," Young said. "Together, we demonstrate a powerful voting block."

Due to Young’s relative youth, much of his campaign has targeted the youth vote in the Green Mountain State. Most of his campaigning has taken place in Burlington where there is a high percentage of younger voters, he said.

“I have really been pushing it in Burlington because the Republican vote could swing it against Douglas, and there isn’t favorable opinion of Jim Douglas here,” Young said. “It would mix up the race a bit to make it more interesting.”

Young said the write-in campaign is a test of the network he already created through Facebook, but he has also posted flyers all over Vermont about the write-in campaign.

“It’s just a way to get a tangible vote,” he said. “If people are listening and feel very strongly that they don’t want Jim Douglas anymore, it’s the only way to vote in the primary.”

He acknowledged trying to motivate younger voters to get out to the polls is difficult in Vermont. However, he said nearly half of Vermont residents under age 35 are using Facebook which he hopes to use to his advantage.

“The first step is getting them activated and interested,” he said. “I don’t think we are going to ever get Jim Douglas out of governorship if we don’t get them to vote.”

Independents Anthony Pollina and Tony O’Connor are also running for governor, in addition to Douglas and Democratic House Speaker Gaye Symington.