Rockefeller Center student activities coordinator Karen Liot Hill '00 won a seat on the Lebanon City Council, following a campaign enlisting the help of two other Dartmouth women -- Sarah Ayres '06 and Tucker Foundation staffer Becky Windt.
Hill, 26, ousted 59-year-old incumbent Dominic Balestra earlier this month with 64 percent of the 363 votes, winning her a 2-year term on the council.
"I was very surprised, especially by the margin," Hill said. "People voted for me nearly 2-1."
Frustrated by the city council's inability to pick a city manager and enthused by her mentor Howard Dean's suggestion that she run for office, Hill started a grassroots campaign to get herself elected to the nine-member council. She mailed out 1,800 pamphlets and knocked on over a hundred doors during her campaign, which she financed herself and described as low budget.
Hill began thinking about running for office last summer, when Howard Dean was visiting Dartmouth. Hill befriended the former Vermont Governor and current Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, who encouraged her to run for a local office and congratulated her by e-mail after her victory.
"I spent a lot of time with [Dean] over the summer and we had some great conversations," Hill said. "All along, he was encouraging people that they had the ability to make change happen."
Becky Windt, Hill's campaign manager, noted the influence Dean had on Hill. "I know Karen was really inspired by the Dean campaign and all that could have followed from that," she said.
Hill said her campaign focused more on her qualifications for city councilor than on specific issues. "I didn't have a particular agenda," Hill said. "My basic platform was to bring a new perspective and a fresh face to Lebanon politics, to bring an honest and thoughtful approach to decision-making."
The death of Hill's grandmother threw a wrench in the candidate's plans. Hill spent time with her dying grandmother days before the election, when conventional political wisdom might suggest she ought to be campaigning. Hill became uncertain about the election. "I knew that I had done the right thing in being with my grandmother, and I was okay with the idea that I might not win," she said.
Described by Windt as the campaign's "field director," Ayres helped Hill by creating a list of likely voters that Hill could target and speak with. Hill then knew which doors to knock on based on which households contained likely voters, concentrating her efforts and saving time.
She also recruited Dartmouth students who, according to Hill, knocked on over 200 doors. Ayres analyzed Hill's campaign for her government class on campaigns and elections, taught by former Missouri congressional candidate Jeff Smith.
Windt works at the Tucker Foundation and stayed in New Hampshire after campaigning for Dean. As campaign manager, she helped Hill by creating a campaign plan that mapped out what was to be done during the two and a half months before the election.
Windt said she was not surprised Hill won and thought the campaign was superior to others. She said Hill worked hard and deserved to win.
"She knocked on doors and made phone calls and had a little house party. She put in a lot more effort than the other city councilors."
Hill's campaign is an example that will inspire similar campaigns, according to Windt.
"Karen's campaign should be inspiring to other people because she really did show that if you work hard and put grassroots efforts to practice, you can be successful," she said.
Ayres agreed and added that she learned that public office is more accessible than she previously believed. "Running for office is a completely achievable goal for ordinary citizens. You don't have to be some political elite."
Last Wednesday, Hill was seated as a city councilor, a job she describes as requiring about 10 hours per week. She has already begun communicating with the other members of the council, which will meet April 6.
