Political Activism 2009

I think I could have been a hippie in another life, staging sit ins and carrying a picket for a cause. These days, though, there's not much call for that, so instead I just encourage people to be informed, and vote. I also encourage people to shop locally, which may be a politically active thing to do.
The local primary is fast approaching, and I fear that the usual apathy will be in effect (affect?) and that nothing will really be accomplished. I'm not sure who all is running for Mayor, but I know who I am backing, and it is because she has made herself available to me in regards to her goals. I think it was the act of communication that won me, and her understanding that the problems here are not easily solved with just one approach.
Empowering women is near and dear to my heart, but I have yet to find an outlet for that energy. She wants to do something about prostitution here, and sounds like she would treat the causes, not just the symptoms and resulting issues. It's a cycle, of despair, poverty, desperation, frustration...hopefully she can help me find a way to make a difference...