Hitting the Ground Running Before COVID-19
Stolyarov’s first foray into city politics was in 2018, when her name was listed on the ballot for Sparks city mayor. At the time, however, her candidacy was primarily a paper-campaign in which she hadn’t done much active campaigning in the community. So when she decided to run for Ward One representative for the Sparks City Council in this election cycle, Stolyarov made sure she hit the ground running.
“Luckily, we started campaigning really early back in September [of 2019] and people had said, ‘Oh, you shouldn't be knocking on doors that early,’ but in hindsight, I'm very glad we did because we had hundreds of fantastic conversations before the pandemic hit,” Stolyarov said. “Of course, now we can't do that kind of face-to-face contact, so we have a fleet of volunteers out here today and we're going to be doing a literature-drop. It’s a no-contact, safe, socially-distanced way of campaigning during the pandemic.”
The primary purpose of her campaign literature-drop is to ensure that voters are informed about her candidacy and where she stands on certain issues, such as striving for housing affordability, good paying jobs and equality. The campaign materials are double-sided: English on one side and Spanish on the other. This way, she says she knows her message won’t get lost on any of the residents in her ward.
“We're just taking campaign literature and putting one piece on every door in the neighborhood and making sure that people know what their options are and are educated about their choices in this election,” Stolyarov said. “If we can't talk to people, at least we can make sure that they're informed. So that's our goal today is just to cover some ground, enjoy this beautiful weather and make sure people know the choices they have,” Stolyarov said as she prepared her socially distanced team of masked and gloved volunteers.
Missing Face to Face Conversations
Although she’s adapted her campaign strategies to the COVID-19 pandemic, she still wishes she could continue having those face-to-face conversations with people in the community.
“The bread and butter of a municipal campaign is normally knocking doors, talking to people, getting one-on-one with them and meeting them where they are,” Stolyarov said. “That helps you understand people by getting into their communities and getting to see them face-to-face and have those really interesting and deep conversations.”
That’s not to say she hasn’t been able to engage. During some of her literature drops, she may encounter residents who are out working in their yard or doing chores outside.
“The most important part of any municipal-elected job is making sure that you really are hearing the community and that you're addressing those concerns. So it has been really nice to still be able to get out here and occasionally have those conversations. It's just not what it would have been in a normal year,” Stolyarov explained.
Another way she has adapted her campaign to the COVID-19 pandemic has been relying on phone-banking and text-banking, which she admits isn’t nearly as effective with low-response rates. But to counteract that, Stolyarov has also been hosting a series of community conversation videos, inviting stakeholders in the community to speak with her about their concerns.
“We did [a community conversation video] on racial equality, making sure that the Hispanic and LatinX community is heard here and there will be more [videos] coming,” Stolyarov said. “So while we can't necessarily have those face-to-face one-on-one conversations at the doors, now we can at least interview stakeholders in the community. The next one should be coming out in the coming week or so and each one of these is targeted at a specific area or issue that Sparks has struggled with in the past.”
Since the onset of the pandemic in March, Stolyarov has learned a lot about how to engage the community in creative ways that facilitate citizens supporting each other. This includes updating a slick website, which makes clear her priorities.
Helping People Out During a Campaign
Stolyarov has also turned her campaign into a vehicle for assisting people in need.
“When the pandemic hit, we switched to doing community welfare calls,” Stolyarov said. “Whatever [their needs] might've been, we were then putting them in contact with those resources and encouraged people to engage in mutual aid. Our first mailer for the campaign was a mutual aid card, which you basically put your name on and stuck it on your neighbor's door offering to help. I got a lot of phone calls from people who had received those and said that it was such a sweet idea and were going to reach out and help their neighbor and see what they can do in the community.”
She says this also made her realize the positive influence of community building, rather than pretending to be an individual savior.
“I think too often we idolize political figures and expect them to save us and really as a community, it's up to us to save ourselves,” Stolyarov said. “So any tools I can give our community to help them lift themselves up is a big step in the right direction. So I'm proud of what we've been able to do, even with the pandemic.”
“This is the most important election we've ever had to vote on and when you go to the ballot box or whether you're mailing in your ballot or whatever it is, do it early,” Stolyarov said. “Early voting starts on October 17th. You should be getting your ballot the week of October 2nd, according to the registrar, so as soon as you get it please act on that and let’s get through this.”
Secondary Challenges and Surprise Endorsements
It hasn’t been only the COVID-19 pandemic, however, that has brought challenges for her campaign.
“[Another challenge has been] the wildfire smoke, I don't think any of us expected that and it has made literature dropping a challenge too,” Stolyarov said. “I don't want to subject volunteers to unhealthy air quality. So if the air is bad, I won't make people go out and walk because it's not right.”
Despite the challenges her campaign has had to take on in the past year, there have been some pleasant surprises, too. Stolyarov recently received an endorsement from the Local 1265 Sparks Firefighters Union, even though she’s running against a Sparks City Council incumbent, Donald Abbott..
“In terms of positive surprises, I think the endorsement of the [Local 1265 Sparks Firefighters Union] is the biggest one for me,” Stolyarov said. “But it's because the Sparks Fire Department really does feel unheard right now when it comes to their needs and their ability to care for our city and make sure that they have the resources they need to make sure the entire city is protected while our firefighters are able to come home safe.”
Going bilingual is one of Stolyarov’s strategies to have a wider reach in her campaigning.
Issue and Equality Oriented
Moving forward, Stolyarov says her campaign will continue coming up with creative ways to engage with the community. One of the biggest issues she’s focusing on is housing affordability, particularly with the wave of evictions she says is imminent due to the prolonged effects of the pandemic.
“Especially with the pandemic, [affordable housing] is more imperative now than ever before,” Stolyarov said. “So when [mass evictions] hit, where are all of those people going to go if our housing prices and rent remain as high as they are right now? Rent has gone up by 50% in the last five years and wages have remained relatively flat. So one of my biggest goals on city council is to find ways we can work with zoning reform ways we can implement inclusionary zoning in order to bring down that cost of housing.”
Additional issues Stolyarov wants to shed light on are workers’ rights and protections and equality for all of Sparks’ citizens.
“My other two big issues are workers' rights and protections, which are again, more imperative than ever in this pandemic and equality in the city of Sparks,” Stolyarov said. “When I talk about equality, I'm not just talking about LGBT equality, which is important for me because if elected I would be the first queer council person. But also accessibility in the city by making sure that when we offer a city council meeting, we really are making it accessible to everyone.”
Some ways Stolyarov envisions making city council meetings accessible for everyone is by offering them in Spanish, or at least by making a translator available.
“The [city council meetings] are never offered in Spanish and we don't offer translators even though a huge proportion of ward one is Spanish-speaking only or you speak Spanish as a first language,” Stolyarov said. “So we should offer more city services in Spanish. Our website should be offered in Spanish and that's a very basic one that Reno and Washoe County both do as a matter of course. How can you participate in your government or in your community if you are being cut off at every turn from access?”
Whatever the outcome come Election Day, Stolyarov said she’s proud of her team’s effort.
“This is my first real political campaign and it has been an adventure,” Stolyarov said. “It's a wild year to run for office and I wouldn't trade it for anything. It's been a fantastic learning experience and whatever happens in November, I feel like we have been able to do a lot of good for the community.”