Gasca Suffers Hard knocks - Press Enterprise

By Michael James "Mike" Gasca

Gasca suffers some hard knocks!!! Recent high school graduate Mike Gasca suffers slammed doors, skeptics while campaigning door-to-door for seat on Alvord district board.

01:37 AM PDT on Wednesday, October 8, 2003

RIVERSIDE - Mike Gasca rings the doorbell on Torrey Pines Drive and retreats a few steps, waiting for someone to answer.

As a candidate for the Alvord school board, Gasca, 18, has had several doors shut in his face already. People usually assume he's peddling products or religious literature.

He's nervous. A man slowly opens the door and steps out.

"Hi," Gasca says. "Are you a registered voter of Riverside County?"

After Steve Futchko says yes, Gasca introduces himself and tells Futchko that he is running for an Alvord seat.

"That's good," says Futchko, 83.

Gasca's head bends down as he pulls a campaign flier from the shoulder bag he carries on his campaign walks. Gasca offers one to Futchko. Futchko says he is blind but took one anyway.

"My biggest fear was that people wouldn't take me seriously," Gasca said.

Gasca and a few friends have hit the streets for the last two months, visiting about 100 homes three evenings per week to further his campaign for the Nov. 4 school board election.

Two of the other three Alvord candidates are incumbents -- Ben Johnson, a pharmaceutical sales manager; and Zack Earp, a retired Alvord principal. Bob Irish, a self-employed real-estate agent, who ran for an Alvord seat in 2001, is running again. Two trustee seats are available.

The district serves parts of Riverside and Corona.

Some voters are listening to Gasca, who presents youth programs and services at school sites for the Riverside County Office of Education. Some residents living near La Sierra High said last week that they appreciated Gasca's effort to meet them in person.

"It's great. It's better than a phone call," Bob Stankan said. "No one has knocked on my door before Mike."

Stankan didn't have any questions for Gasca, but took his brochure and continued working in his garage.

Pat Cline told Gasca she is pleased to see young people interested in running for school boards. She talked to him for a few minutes and offered Gasca some advice if he gets elected.

"Ask a lot of questions," Cline said. "Get alternatives from management . . . just go for it, honey.

"What I like about him is his age," Cline said. "He doesn't own a store somewhere where he has to do political favors."

A handful of Gasca's friends at La Sierra High School are helping Gasca pass out campaign fliers. Two of them said they were initially afraid to knock on doors but they have come to like it.

"People are surprised that people our age take an interest in politics and they want to know more," said Arlene Simon, 17, who can't yet vote.

Between following the governor's recall and helping Gasca, Cherrelle Jones, 17, said she is learning more about politics, even if it means having to juggle studying for Advanced Placement classes and playing sports. Campaigning is hard work, Cherrelle said.

Running for a political seat requires money and a lot of dedication from supporters, Arlene added. They have raised only a few hundred dollars from dinner fund-raisers and don't have the money to mail campaign advertisements, she said.

Youth perspective

Gasca, who lives in Home Gardens, knows he faces stiff competition from the other three candidates. He admits he doesn't hold the experience and doesn't have the financing they have to campaign.

But Gasca says he can make a difference by adding his fresh perspective to the five-member board. He attended Alvord Unified School District schools since kindergarten and graduated from La Sierra High in June.

As a teenager, Gasca said he's more in touch with what his peers face and how to reach them.

"We're trying to raise 'Leave it to Beaver' children in a 'Beavis and Butthead' environment," Gasca said.

That won't work, he said.

Getting teenagers to pay attention to topics such as drug prevention and safe sex requires presenting the information in such a way that they will accept it, Gasca said. Teenagers won't bother reading pamphlets but are more receptive to youth summits and guest speakers, Gasca said.

"They do not want to read but like to interact," he said.

Money shortage

In the last few months, Gasca has suffered moments of doubt about staying in the election. The shortage of money, getting doors slammed in his face and being told he's too young can get pretty frustrating, he said.

The possibility of having an effect on youths keeps him going though, Gasca said.

Encouragement from his parents also helps.

Gasca's father, Joe, said he told his son it's going to be hard, but he is glad the younger Gasca is doing something positive.

"It takes a lot of initiative to take a big step like that," Joe Gasca said by phone.

If elected, Gasca said his top issues are to increase safety on school campuses, build relationships between students, teachers and the community and increase the quality of instruction.

Joining AVID, a school organization that encourages students to attend college, helped Gasca increase his grade-point average from a 1.8 after his freshman year to slightly more than 3.0 when he graduated.

He met teachers who cared about him and wanted him to succeed, said Gasca, who is attending Riverside Community College and plans to become a teacher.

Gasca also likes the idea that Advanced Placement classes at La Sierra High are open to students who didn't take the honors versions beforehand. He took AP English and government/economics.

"It opened the gateway for me," Gasca said. "AP classes should be open to all students wanting a challenge."

Reach Linda Lou at (909) 893-2109 or llou@pe.com