BURBANK, Calif. — The elbow bump greeting is certainly a sign of the COVID times, but navigating this pandemic to get a candidate elected in a safe way is tough, and it is why senior advisor Shanna Ingalsbee called a virtual meeting. 

“Pre-COVID we would be knocking on doors, I always say that it doesn't matter how many endorsements a candidate has than when that voter goes into the voting booth they're going to vote for the person that they met at the coffee bar,” Ingalsbee said. 

Ingalsbee is working to get candidate Nick Schultz elected to the Burbank City Council. Although it is his first time running, he is on an equal playing field with the incumbents.

With personal connections being so vital in a campaign, COVID-19 is certainly challenging that notion. Making connections over the phone is a big part of their strategy, and it always starts with checking in on someone's well being.

“The isolation is very difficult for some people, and again letting them know that we understand that, that we're going through the same thing, is a way of connecting to voters that wasn't necessarily a need in the past,” Ingalsbee said.

Everyone is forced to figure out their most effective ways to campaign during COVID.

For Ingalsbee and Schultz, that means calling constituents, making strategic social media posts, and holding virtual phone banks.

“Nobody who is alive today has ever had to run under these circumstances. This is a whole new playbook, and there is no playbook for it,” Schultz said.

Social media can be a hotbed for misinformation, but this campaign is using it as a way to create a dialogue and a way to speak directly with Schultz.

“I think as campaigners, we really need to get voters to do more talking to our candidates, rather than talking about them,” Ingalsbee said. 

With less than two months until the election, the campaign team is utilizing their strategy to get the word out, and making personal connections while staying apart.