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Terri St. Amant had to get used to the presidential campaigns when they first rolled through town. The saleswoman at Symposium Books, downtown on Westminster Street, said she wasn't accustomed to the lively atmosphere and hub-bub that staffers brought into the shop. Now, she said, she misses the flavor added by Barack Obama's campaign office to the city's vibe.
With a wave of national politics sweeping through Rhode Island earlier this month, Obama's and Hillary Clinton's campaigns opened offices in Providence. But now, the primary's over, the bustling offices are gone - and some Providence businesses and campaign volunteers wish they were still around.
"We were definitely disappointed to see them go, and we joked, 'Oh, it's going to affect our business,' " said Daren MacDonald, the coffee manager at Tazza Caffe, across the street from the Illinois senator's campaign office.
Sales "definitely increased, no doubt about it," MacDonald said. "Just seeing the same faces every day, that's what was great. They utilized every aspect of the business: coffee, food, cocktails and music. We served them well."
"Foot traffic definitely increased" and lunch times were "a little bit busier," St. Amant said.
"A lot of the people from the campaign asked if we had the Obama book, which we don't have because we don't carry a lot of new releases," she added with a laugh.
Obama's office, about a 10-minute walk from Kennedy Plaza, sits near hip cafes and chic boutiques in a neighborhood that tends to draw the up-and-coming youth his campaign has attracted. Clinton's office, across from a homeless shelter on Broad Street, is situated among the families and working-class voters who have helped propel her candidacy.
"I think everyone was incredibly energized to have a campaign here," said Ariel Werner '09, a coordinator for Brown Students for Barack Obama. "People were able to walk into Westminster Street, where our office was, through the heart of Providence and see the physical campaign presence and the diversity of people that were in the office."
Perhaps revealing a more playful side to a serious operation, Oop! Think Happy also saw a fair share of extra activity during the campaign flurry. Down the street from the Obama office, the shop sells quirky items such as "Get Lucky" gum and "Understand Your Mother Instantly" breath spray.
Leila Jenkins, an employee at Oop! said, "Our busy times were different than they are regularly. It was really nice. It felt like the neighborhood was politicized and there were signs everywhere," she said. "We had a lot of out-of-state volunteers come in here."
"We're hoping that if Obama gets the nomination, they'll be right back in there," MacDonald added with a chuckle.
But Werner said she doesn't see that happening because Rhode Island has historically always been a Democratic state. "I doubt that whoever is the nominee would spend any time at all in Rhode Island," she said.
A few blocks south, Hillary Clinton campaign volunteers had set up an office at 125 Broad Street. Clinton's office has a sign offering the property for sale or lease now, but the office was so busy a few weeks ago that campaign officials used up many of the building's 70 parking spots, according to Christine Heenan, the communications director for Clinton's campaign in Rhode Island and an adjunct lecturer in public policy.
"Headquarters were chosen for centrality and access," she said. "There were volunteers that needed easy access, and the building was right off the freeway."
Across the street, Timothy Andrews, originally from Walnut Creek, Calif., but now living in the Crossroads shelter, said, "I've observed for several days, maybe a week, their delegation hanging around and hanging signs." Employees at the shelter declined to speak with The Herald.
The office buildings that both Clinton and Obama's campaign offices occupied are now up for lease by their owners. Both owners declined to tell The Herald how much leasing the buildings cost the candidates.
Now that the campaign offices have closed shop, some campaign volunteers are looking for other ways to help their candidates win the nomination.
Jeremy Feigenbaum '11, a Clinton campaign volunteer, wrote in an e-mail that he would be in Pennsylvania for a few days during spring break to help the campaign effort there. "Many of the staff members from the RI office will also be headed there, since that is truly the next battleground state," he wrote.
Werner said that she will be involved in organizing trips to Pennsylvania as the April 22 primary date nears.
"There's not much I can do in Rhode Island, but we will definitely be fundraising and running phone banks on campus," she said. "I know lots of students that will be heading to Pennsylvania over the break, too."
