Convention of States member calls 'block walk' successful in Houston ISD run-off election

With two Republican candidates knocking off Democratic incumbents in the Houston school board runoff elections last month, a member of the Convention of States (COS) Foundation feels that her organization’s work was highly successful in educating people and getting people to go out and vote.

Kendall Baker is a local pastor who defeated trustee Holly Maria Flynn Vilaseca in the Independent School District (ISD) vote. Bridget Wade is the former president of a parent teacher organization who beat incumbent Anne Snug, according to Blaze Media. 

The COS used a technique called “block walking” to get their message out and promote political objectives, according to the Tri City Sun. 

COS member and volunteer Janice Kuhn spoke to Houston Daily and said that she sent out an email blast to everyone in the database that signed the organization’s petition and resides in Texas. She said they had volunteers as far as Magnolia to block walk.

“Of everyone that I spoke to, they responded that they would go and vote even though they were previously not planning on it,” Kuhn said. “We have found that people are more likely to go vote if personally approached by a volunteer giving up their time for a cause they believe in.”

State block walking captain Laurie Sallans said the process involves volunteers knocking on doors in neighborhoods to “inform others of our mission to build a grass roots army and to get petitions signed.”

COS activists from across the country worked to encourage people to vote in the recent Houston runoff school board elections. The Houston Daily reported that “COS surveyed the candidates seeking any of five up-for-grabs board seats, quizzing them on hot-topic opinions such as critical race theory (CRT) curriculum, COVID-19 vaccine mandates and mask requirements.” 

The answers to the questions were then emailed to members of the COS in the Houston area so they could better understand the political positions of board candidates.

When asked if the COS will be block walking again in other races, Kuhn replied, “Absolutely. This is the best way to engage our volunteers and the public.”

The COS website says the organization is working for an amending convention and not a constitutional convention. This means that it is offering amendments to the existing constitution that need to be ratified by 38 states to become part of the constitution. The resolution has passed in 15 states, including Texas.