Red for Ed supporters doing ‘Knocktober’ as Election Day approaches

With less than a month until the November election, educators, Red for Ed leaders, and their supporters are trying to get out and swing the vote in their favor.

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - With less than a month until the November election, educators, Red for Ed leaders, and their supporters are trying to get out and swing the vote in their favor.

They’re doing what they’re calling “Knocktober.” Their goal is to knock on 80,000 doors statewide and to talk to the people about candidates they feel are pro public education.

“Right now it’s all about canvassing and informing voters,” says Wes Oswald, a third-grade teacher who came up with the title “Knocktober” here in Tucson.

Oswald got involved with the Red for Ed movement in March. It started simple, with him wearing red. His involvement quickly grew and soon he was the school liaison for his elementary school. He says after becoming the school liaison he became very involved with walkouts and Red for Ed efforts for the 2018 election.

“We’re all banking on big change in November because we’ve already come this far. We had 75,000 people walk out in April and we can’t come this close and just give up,” he said.

It was a few months ago that Oswald says he and a friend came up with “Knocktober.” He says their goal is to use the title as a means of rallying support in one area he knows has widespread reach, social media. He hopes teachers and their supporters will use the hashtag #Knocktober on social media to help spread the word.

In reaction to the “Knocktober” efforts Tucson News Now reached out to Superintendent of Arizona Public Schools Diane Douglas, who said, “God bless America! That’s what this country is all about: getting voters out to vote!”

This past weekend Oswald and other Red for Ed supporters took the streets of Tucson to knock on doors. Their goal was to hit 6,000.

For Oswald and his fellow Red for Ed advocates that are also educators, much of their time off has been on “Knocktober,” including a lot of their fall break. Even though Oswald says they have a big force of support behind them he also explains that he hopes other Tucson area locals will join them as they canvass the area.

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