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A Candidate Goes On Camera
Self-assured, A Candidate
Goes On Camera
By
Shannon Snow
October 20, 2004
State Senate candidate Shane Patrick Connolly is not nervous
in front of a camera. As he entered the studio of KMVT Channel
15 on Wednesday to shoot a statement explaining his candidacy,
a producer assured him that he could film a full hour's worth
of takes.
"I'm going to do it right the first time," Connolly
said. "How about that?"
Recording a three-minute candidate statement for Mountain View
public access television isn't the only task Connolly hopes to
do right the first time. In his first campaign for public office,
the Republican finance manager is looking to give Democrat Elaine
Alquist a run for her money in the race to represent state Senate
District 13. Alquist is favored in to win in the district, which
has a high percentage of registered Democrats.
Before the taping, Connolly sat calmly in a studio waiting room
decorated with dozens of community service awards and spoke easily
about his campaign. He expressed concern about lost jobs in Santa
Clara County, his home for the past eight years, and wants to
make Silicon Valley more hospitable to tech firms and workers.
A native of upstate New York, Connolly said California is going
through the same cycle New York state went through 10 years ago
-- increased taxes, fleeing businesses and lost jobs. This not
only drives out high tech firms, he said, it narrows the field
of available employment.
"Not everyone can have a Ph.D. from Stanford and get a
job at a high tech firm," Connolly said. "We need to
make room for other people in the workforce."
As a producer ushered Connolly into the television studio, he
had neither a campaign manager nor a public relations person
to accompany him. Dressed in a blue blazer and black pants, he
sat down to face the TelePrompTer with only two items -- a glasses
case and a typed copy of his speech -- by his side.
He was not going to wing it. With a powdered
face and a 2-minute 46-second statement waiting on the TelePrompTer,
Connolly was typically prepared. As a student assemblyman at
University of Buffalo, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s
of business administration, Connolly used to meticulously script
out what he was going to say in every speech.
"I used to write in stage directions, but not anymore," he
said.
His preparation showed as the tape began to roll. Connolly touched
on platform issues that included balancing the budget, rebuilding
the education system and founding a community-based healthcare
center.
"I am not a career politician," he told the camera. He
paused afterward, as if there was an unspoken "yet." Before
the taping, Connolly, an area controller at low-tech firm, Smurfit-Stone
Container Corporation, joked, "I am hoping to lose my job."
When the statement airs next week, up to 37,000 cable subscribers
in Mountain View may be watching, according to Jill Otsuji,
producer of the candidates’ statements for KMVT. Connolly's
Libertarian opponent Mike Laursen taped a statement last week.
Elaine Alquist, the Democrat, did not participate in the project,
which airs beginning October 18 at 7:30 p.m.
Eleven television images of his own face greeted Connolly in
the control room as he reviewed his statement. On camera, he
has a 5 o'clock shadow not visible in real life. Behind his glasses,
which glared from the studio lights, his eyes appeared to be
reading the TelePrompTer. He took careful note of this and asked
to shoot again. After four takes, he was satisfied.
As Connolly said his good byes to the KMVT staff, Otsuji handed
him a sealed white envelope with his name on it and invited him
to stop by the studio on November 2.
"I don't know what I'm doing for election night yet," Connolly
said. "But I'll let you know."
Contact Shannon Snow at ssnow@stanford.edu
