Politician plays to young voters

As Gentleman Caller tuned up its instruments before its set, Democrat Mike Englert approached the microphone to deliver a speech in front of the boisterous crowd Friday at Second Story.\n"This year when you go to the polls, we want you to check the boxes all the way down the ballot," the county commissioner candidate said. "Don't just vote for the president. Kerry might help get you health care, but he's not going to be working to keep sewage out of your drinking water. That's our job." \nNodding to his fellow Democratic nominees, Sophia Travis and Mike Woods, who stood with him on the stage, Englert said, "We're going to do everything we can to help out people who work hard and don't get paid enough, and that probably includes most of the people in the crowd tonight. We're not interested in working for big, corporate interests or helping the rich people get richer." \nWhich explains why Englert was campaigning at a rock show. \nThe "We Like Mike" fund-raiser at Second Story was just one more thing to add to Englert's extensive campaign catering to a younger crowd. Hosting musical acts Gentleman Caller, The Kyle Quass Quintet and Aphonic, the fund-raiser might be considered a notable achievement by rock aficionados, but it's only the first step for Englert.\nRunning opposite Republican candidate Joyce Poling, Englert is running on a platform of 'smart growth, conservation and people-friendly county government' in the upcoming election. He's done tree-sits, and he's been the treasurer of the Indiana Forest Alliance, where he is currently involved in an effort to sue the Indiana Department of Natural Resources for claiming that felling timber 'has no impact on the environment.' \nAs the board president of the Center for Sustainable Living, he recently participated in the construction of Bloomington's first Straw-Bail-House, an ecologically-friendly alternative to traditional, residential construction. In the 1990s, Englert helped to create the Bloomington Bike Project, which helps to provide free bicycles to those in need. He's also a volunteer disc jockey at WFHB and a land-steward with the Sycamore Land-Trust. It makes sense to Englert to consolidate all of these philanthropic efforts by integrating them into his duties as county commissioner.\nAccording to his Web site, if elected as county commissioner, Englert will act in conjunction with two other commissioners as Monroe County Government's executive branch -- initiating, passing and vetoing bills. If he is elected to office, Englert intends to focus on protecting Bloomington's water supply, preserving environmentally sensitive areas and pushing for increased recycling and reuse of materials. \nEnglert said he is particularly concerned with preventing the privatization of the city's Solid Waste Management district. \n"We know from experience that when programs are privatized, they move from being a community concern to being concerned with helping someone make a buck," he said.\nEnglert said issues with the Solid Waste Management District have been routinely ignored by Republican incumbents. \n"Now they want to just keep ignoring it by paying off some corporation to deal with it," Englert said.\nAs the Aphonic set wound down about 1 a.m. Friday, the lead-singer exhorted the crowd to "make it out to the polls in November." \nWhen asked if he feels confident about the outcome of the election, Englert didn't hesitate. \n"I think things are looking pretty good," he said. "I've got a lot of people supporting me. I think there's going to be a lot more people going to the polls this November than there were at the last election (in light of the general outrage about the Bush Regime). And I think, that when the people vote as a whole -- as opposed to just a few people voting -- the people generally protect their own interests."\n-- Contact staff writer Thomas Doane at tdoanesw@indiana.edu.