When you see them working events, registering voters and harnessing the energy of hundreds of volunteers, please thank our three energetic young field organizers.

And after you thank them, take them to lunch! They deserve to be fed and appreciated for all their hard work now and up to November 2.

(l-r) David Kanewske, Jessica Myles, Voltaire Cortez

Travis County Democrats are lucky to have Jessica Myles, Voltaire Cortez and David Kanewske on board for our coordinated campaign. They are our boots-on-the-ground trio, working under the able direction of coordinated campaign manager Katherine Haenschen.

For about a month, they have been working long hours — from 9:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. weekdays and logging additional hours at events and functions on the weekends. As the campaign heats up, they likely will be working non-stop all over Travis County.

If you haven’t already met them, this is your official introduction. Two are University of Texas grads, and all three are from the Houston area, but they already know Austin well.

Jessica studied economics and journalism at UT and graduated in ’09. She worked with Laura Hernandez, currently the TCDP executive director, during the ’08 campaign and became part of the Obama whirlwind. After graduation, she wound up back in Houston doing temp work that wasn’t quite as exciting. When the opportunity arose to work on the TCDP coordinated campaign, she jumped at the chance.

“I didn’t imagine anything would be consuming my life like this, but I really enjoy it,” Jessica said on the back porch of the 13th Street headquarters. “I love doing different things — events, meetings, even fundraising. You have to forgive yourself for all the telemarketers you’ve hung up on, but I like the challenge. On a campaign like this, you have to be ready to go all the time, and you have to stay enthusiastic.”

Voltaire isn’t quite as happy about the fundraising aspect as Jessica but realizes it needs to be done. So far, his favorite duties are working events, block-walking, phone-banking and taking advantage of free food.

A recent graduate of American University in Washington, D.C., Voltaire’s family is originally from the Philippines but now lives in Sugarland. He sees similarities between Austin and DC: “They both have liberal, politically-minded people.”

So far, the long hours have not been a problem for Voltaire: “I knew exactly what I was getting into. It’s exhausting but fun, and I love the people I’m working with.”

And he is excited about being a part of turning Texas blue: “If politics has taught me anything, it’s that people view public opinion as a reflection. There’s an art to changing public opinion, and you can change it. The best campaigns are pro-active, not reactive.”

David earned his degree in government and history from UT this past spring and worked on Amy Clark Meachum’s primary campaign for judge in the 201st district. After the November election, he’ll be looking for work with the legislature.

In the next few weeks, David will be heavily involved in a voter registration drive. He also works to keep volunteers busy and happy, which he especially likes: “Every day, different people are coming through the door. Some are quiet; others want to tell you their story. I like getting to chat with people. It’s entertaining and always changing.”

Like his two young FO colleagues, David sees a blue horizon in Texas’ future: “We’re a big state, an incredibly important and influential state. You can’t ignore Texas. People seem to be very positive about this campaign. It’s close, and we’re five months out, so I think it’s going to be exciting to say we were here when it happened, and in some way, we got to help.”