Doug Hess
Doug Hess worked for ACORN from 1991-1992 and January 1994-Fall 1996. He then worked for Project Vote, which was affiliated with ACORN, in 2004 and from 2006-2010. Today he is a professor of policy analysis, political science, and statistics, and an expert on the National Voter Registration Act. In this interview, Hess talks about getting involved in ACORN in the early 90s and moving around a lot. From that experience, he learned that for organizing to be successful, organizers and campaigns need to exist in one place for a long time. He sees ACORN’s Minimum Wage/Living Wage campaigns and banking campaigns as successful, and he expresses his wish for someone to find a way to quantify those successes in numbers. He also speaks about ACORN voter registration campaigns, his affiliated work with Project Vote, and how that work drew the attention and ire of the Right. He says, “Campaigns that draw the level of ire point to a level of success…” Additionally, Hess talks about the uniqueness of the ACORN organizing neighborhood model; race, class and gender dynamics in the organization; and lessons for young organizers today. This interview may be of interest to people interested in voter registration campaigns and the impacts of the National Voter Registration Act.