Hitting the campaign trail with Bill Ritter

CU student and summer intern for gubernatorial candidate tackles issues on campus

Eleni Kennebeck, a junior political science and international affairs major, spent over 800 hours this summer as an intern helping to get gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter elected Nov. 7.

“The most exciting part was to go on tour with Bill around the State,” Kennebeck said. Along with staffing Ritter events and meet-and-greets, Kennebeck made calls to registered “D’s and U’s,” campaign lingo for democrats and unaffiliated Coloradans, to get the vote out.

She also worked on getting young people interested in the Ritter campaign and helped to register new voters in preparation for the upcoming election. She has carried this forward from her summer internship by taking on the role of CU campus coordinator to elect Ritter.

Kennebeck’s ties to Ritter did not start this summer. She went to Mullen High School in Denver with August Ritter, the candidate’s son who has taken the semester off from Colorado State University to help on his father’s campaign.

This political activity is nothing new for Kennebeck.

“She’s always been passionate about politics,” said Vanna Livaditis, a CU student and life-long acquaintance.

One of the hot-button issues in the Ritter platform is his pro-life view. This is a divergence from the standard Democratic politic. When asked about this, Kennebeck said, “It takes a lot to stand up as a Dem and be pro-life.” She went on to say that she really respects his strong convictions but disagrees with Ritter’s views on abortion. This is the only plank on the platform in which she does not see eye-to-eye with the candidate.

“My time as an intern opened up my eyes to all sorts of situations across Colorado,” Kennebeck said. “I loved being able to get out the vote.”

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