‘Crumby’ Election
Ecklof’s Bakery Becomes City’s Newest Political Hot SpotBy Kristen Johnson kajohnson@post-journal.com
Article Photos
Voters who really want to know how the cookie will crumble this campaign season need look no farther than Ecklof's Bakery on Foote Avenue.
Ecklof's, along with 45 other bakeries from 23 states around the country, is taking part in a campaign cookie poll that's being put on by the Retail Bakers Association.
''Some RBA members around the country have done this in past presidential elections,'' said Rick Ecklof, co-owner of Ecklof's Bakery. ''They all got together and said they'd do it again this year, so we decided to participate.''
Bakeries around the country began selling their own versions of campaign cookies on Sept. 8. Ecklof's began selling their own campaign cookies on Sept. 9. Each bakery is keeping track of its own results, Ecklof said. Results are tallied and faxed to the RBA at the end of each week.
''At our store, it was pretty dead even up until this week. Now, (Sen. John) McCain is ahead. To date, (Sen. Barack) Obama has 252 and McCain has 261,'' Ecklof said. ''I don't remember an election year where people have been so strong-minded for one candidate or the other. This has really been something.''
The total tally shows a far wider margin for Obama - 6,030 ''Democratic'' cookies have been sold across the country, while just 4,633 ''Republican'' cookies have been sold.
''In years past, the bakeries who have participated say their tally comes pretty close in proportion to the actual election tally,'' Ecklof said.
The campaign cookies being sold at Ecklof's are sugar cookies with a light frosting and an edible picture of either Sens. Obama and Joe Biden or Sen. McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin.
The Ecklofs' son, Chad, designed the pictures used on the cookies. The pictures are printed on special, sugar-coated paper using a regular, store-bought printer that holds ink wells full of food coloring instead of printer ink. Once the pictures - six to a page - are printed, the sheet is put into a freezer for a few minutes to ensure the pictures will be firm. The cookies are then frosted and, while the frosting is still moist, the pictures are peeled off the special paper and stuck to the top of the cookie.
Ecklof's campaign cookies sell for $1.50 each. One cookie is equal to one vote.
''You can vote as many times as you like,'' Suzan Ecklof said.
Depending on sales, the bakery makes between 24 and 48 cookies for each candidate every day.
The cookies certainly haven't sold quietly. The Ecklofs said their lunch and cookie counters are becoming hot spots for political debates.
''Let's just say that there are some staunch Democrats and some staunch Republicans in this community,'' Ecklof said with a chuckle. ''Folks come in here and check the tally board and if the candidate they like is behind, they usually buy a few cookies to even out the score. We've had a lot of fun with this.''
Representatives from Democratic Party offices in both Warren and Jamestown have come in to purchase cookies for various gatherings they've had, and a representative comes regularly from the Jamestown campaign office to check the tally.
Current events, such as last Friday's Obama-McCain debate, have had an impact on cookie sales. For example, after the U.S. House of Representatives defeated the original bailout bill Monday, Mrs. Ecklof said sales of McCain-Palin cookies skyrocketed.
Customers from as far away as Alexandria, Va. have come into Ecklof's to purchase campaign cookies.
''Well for right now, the priority is creme horns,'' Elaine Stone-Arthur, a resident of Virginia, said. ''Ecklof's makes the best creme horns in the world. I was thinking about getting some Obama-Biden cookies, though.''
Stone-Arthur bought two cookies, and then came back to the counter to purchase a third so her son could cast a long-distance vote.
''Oh, those are awesome,'' customer Mike Vealey said. ''I'll take four Obama-Biden cookies.''
But after Vealey learned that Obama was slightly behind in the local tally as of the end of last week, he changed his mind.
''Really? I guess I had better take six, then,'' he said.
