»Spencer Smith becomes an activist

I’ve never voted in a presidential election.

I graduated from the University of Georgia three years ago with a bio-chemistry and molecular biology degree and started working in a research lab in Atlanta.

I never saw the difference in candidates. I was so disillusioned with the rhetoric that I chose not to be a part of it, thinking that it didn’t have that much of an impact anyway. Maybe it’s not so much that, but I figured there wasn’t much of a difference so it would all work out the same. I thought politicians pandered to the same set of people and that they were disingenuous so it wouldn’t really matter.

As I finished up my science degree, watching the Bush administration's approach to global warming, pulling out of the Kyoto treaty, I started looking more critically at their science policies. Their approach to stem cell research appalled me. My father has diabetes and my mother died of cancer. To deny research and the possibilities of science is to sell humanity short; it’s medieval.

From there I began studying the Bush administration's policies on a larger scale and found I disagreed with them across the board. At that point I realized to not take a stand, to not take part in the process, to not represent my beliefs would be to sell my future children short. Now I’m a part of the solution - people going out into neighborhoods, talking with fellow citizens and engaging them in the process. I’m no longer disillusioned. It feels good to believe in your ability to make a difference."

Spencer is the Canvass Director of the San Francisco Door Office that has reached out to hundreds of thousands of Bay Area residents and helped to involve them in the political process.