By Dean Schermerhorn

If you have attended Washoe County Democratic Party events or participated in other progressive causes, you might have seen an extremely tall Uncle Sam walking about. Tuna Townsend dons this costume and walks on stilts to express his belief that Uncle Sam should represent a government of, by and for the people. Through his activism as a Democrat, Tuna aims to inspire people to get involved in local politics and take our country back.

The road to activism

Robert "Tuna" Townsend acquired his nickname about 30 years ago, when he used the first name Bob. A friend adapted his initials, BT, and called him "Big Tuna." This eventually was shortened to Tuna, and the name has followed him ever since.

Tuna grew up in New York, living on Long Island and on the upper west side of Manhattan. He first worked as a musician and recording engineer and later in the movie business in Los Angeles. These professions, however, conflicted with his sense of justice and an outlook that Tuna describes as a "hopelessly romantic, idealized" view of the world.

To find a more fulfilling life, Tuna took up scuba diving and became captain of a scuba diving boat and an underwater videographer in the Bay Area. He then moved to Hawaii, where he lived for four years, and became involved in local environmental causes. To help make ends meet, Tuna began counseling in a domestic-abuse intervention project.

Finding that he could change lives through counseling motivated Tuna to pursue his interest in psychology. He moved to Reno in June 1995 and found that UNR had a "spectacular" psychology department. He earned his undergraduate degree in three years and entered the clinical doctoral program.

Motivation from Nixon to Bush

Tuna has been a Democrat since before he could vote. Richard Nixon's re-election in 1972 was a wake-up call that inspired him to vote Democratic up and down the ticket in every election until 1996. After supporting Ralph Nader and the Green Party in 1996 and 2000, Tuna turned to activism in the Democratic Party. The 2000 election and the appointment of George W. Bush by the Supreme Court made campaign-finance and election reform a defining issue for Tuna.

While visiting Manhattan on September 11, 2001, Tuna saw the second plane plow through the South Tower of the World Trade Center. With the attacks, he thought, "everything from this day forward in America will be different," and he had a terrible feeling that the changes would all be for the worse. The Bush administration's response to the attacks further fueled Tuna's indignation.

To return to Reno, he rented a car and drove across the country. On returning home, he could not resume his routine. Tuna traveled the county seeking a return to "normal." His new normal, however, became a state of outrage, as the Bush administration succeeded in foisting the war in Iraq on the public.

While some people suffer from outrage fatigue, Tuna notes that "my outrage is not quite extinguished." To channel these feelings toward positive ends, Tuna started attending the monthly Washoe County Democratic Party meetings in 2003. Canvassing and monitoring voting as a poll watcher in 2004 impressed on Tuna the importance of getting out the vote. During the 2005 legislative session, he worked on election reform and began attending Assembly committee hearings on an election-reform bill.

Inspiring others to activism

Tuna believes that "we have let our government get away from us" and that corporate interests now control "almost every aspect of our lives." Arranging health care for his mother for the past few years has made universal, single-payer health care another of Tuna's top political issues.

Besides his own activism, Tuna seeks to inspire other Democrats to get involved. He encourages each volunteer to identify the task for which he or she is best suited, enjoys and can perform successfully. During his varied career, Tuna found that he loved working in data processing, which offered predictability and a sense of control. As a volunteer, he enjoys and excels at complex data-processing tasks, which others might find tedious.

In applying his expertise to volunteer work for the Washoe Dems, Tuna found a need to fill the information gap about the caucuses. He offered his home phone number to people attending mock caucuses, so that they could call him with basic questions about participating in the caucus.

Tuna believes that people just need to receive the right information to help them start taking action. Please follow Tuna Townsend's example and consider volunteering. You will find a job that matches your strengths. You can make a difference for people in Washoe County and help the people reclaim their rights and influence over our government.

Dean Schermerhorn, lifelong Democrat, writes freelance and has lived in Reno since 1995. You can reach him at dean.scribe@gmail.com or by calling 775-848-1867