Melendez waging war on voter apathy in Lawrence

LAWRENCE -- The yellow fliers Isabel Melendez hands out have an organizational chart on the back,
with her name at the top and lines drawn from her to six boxes that represent each of the city's voting
districts.

Each district has a captain, who has either asked for the job or has been picked by Melendez.

The chart looks like a military chain of command, and in a way it is.

Melendez has declared war on voter apathy and has organized a group of more than 50 like-minded
volunteers to help her fight door-to-door through some of the toughest streets in the city to bring the
message to residents: Your voice is your vote.

Her group got a boost during its meeting Sunday when the president of the Massachusetts League of
Women Voters, Madhu Sridhar of Andover, stopped by with bilingual fliers and some words of
encouragement.

Sridhar said she remembers the frustration of lobbying to pass a Proposition 2 1/2 override for the
Andover school system, but not having the right to vote because of her immigrant status.

"I sat behind the ropes as people were voting and tears rolled down my cheeks," she said. "As soon
as I was sworn in as a citizen at Faneuil Hall I registered to vote."

Following the dismal voter turnout in the September preliminary election for City Council and School Committee -- when just 15 percent of the city's 26,000 registered voters actually cast a ballot -- Melendez founded her movement, naming it Voters in Action.

Melendez, a prominent community activist and unsuccessful candidate for mayor in 2002, has corralled
an office at 386 Common St., along with a small staff of volunteers who will act as lieutenants to voting
district captains.

Sunday those captains got their orders.

On stacks of 11-by-17-inch paper filled top to bottom in fine print are the names of her army's targets:
inactive voters; people who have registered to vote but have not done so in more than a year. The captains' mission is to knock on the doors of those people and convince them to return to the polls.

Melendez said her group will also be working with the school department to register the 400 high school seniors who are of voting age.

During the meeting, volunteers talked about the project's progress so far.

Delby Cruz, director of logistics, said they are talking to taxi companies that may be willing to enlist a few
cabs and drivers on election day to bring people to the polls.

Melendez also continued her plea for volunteers. She said anyone interested in joining the nonpartisan
group can call (978) 682-4004.