by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
As a paralegal, Linda Whipple makes her living helping the attorneys at Spohrer, Wilner, Maxwell and Matthews prepare for the courtroom. But for the past four years, she’s spent her time outside the firm helping the Democratic party make its case to hundreds of thousands of Duval County voters.
Local voters will join a nationwide jury of millions to decide who the next president will be. Whipple is used to sweating out verdicts in the courtroom, but she’s never invested as much of herself in any case as she has for the 2004 election. Since President George W. Bush narrowly won Florida — and the presidency — by about 500 votes in 2000, Whipple has committed herself to his defeat this time around. She’s served as a delegate to Democratic National Convention in Boston, precinct captain for District 6 in Mandarin and as a member of the Duval County Democratic Executive Committee.
She’s worked nights, weekends, vacations; registered voters in every conceivable locale, from churches to biker rallies; argued with friends and family; even faced down a pro-Bush four-wheeler that plowed through her campaign signs as she waved from a Julington Creek street corner. Whipple could be forgiven if she asked to treat Duval County’s voters as hostile witnesses.
But she says she’s found growing support in largely Republican Duval County. She sees it on campus at University of North Florida, where the self-described “political junkie” is working toward her bachelor’s degree in political science.
Whipple traces her political roots to her days as a student activist in the 1960s. Then, causes like Civil Rights, women’s equality and the Vietnam War made it almost impossible for young people to ignore politics.
“Those were turbulent times,” said Whipple. “It’s gut-wrenching to think about the fear we felt.”
Whipple said she sees a similar reaction from today’s students about the war in Iraq and the larger fight against terrorism. When the dust settles in 2004, Whipple said she’s convinced it will be young, first-time voters who swing the difference.
“I get some of the same feelings on campus that I got in 1968. These kids are starting to ask some of the same questions.”
Whipple said polls that have shown Bush with a small lead have underestimated the youth vote. Voters in their early 20s use cell phones that are rarely called by pollsters, she said.
Splitting time between a recent trial and the election, Whipple said her schedule for the past year has gradually given way to perpetual chaos. She estimates that she receives 17 e-mails an hour and said she’ll work 14-hour days this week between the law firm and the precincts.
If she seems particularly driven this time around, it’s because she hasn’t completely forgiven herself for sitting out the election in 2000. After 30 years of working on campaigns, an exhausted Whipple decided to take a break when Bush ran against then vice president Al Gore. She said she woke up to the news Bush had won and has “regretted it ever since.”