I knocked on doors last week.

Delegates Jill Carter, Nathaniel Oaks and I walked up and down the streets and hills of Keswick, one of the new precincts in the 41st District.

We met the father of a City College senior who will be entering the University of Chicago this fall, a friend of someone who took my Legislation class, and a fellow swimmer at the Meadowbrook pool. (It was not Michael Phelps.)

We heard from a father who got in line at 4:30 a.m. to make sure his son would be enrolled in the pre-kindergarten program at Roland Park Elementary and Middle School. We discussed fracking and the composition of the City School Board.

At every door, we asked for that person’s vote.

It’s the best way to campaign.

“All the research suggests that the most effective form of outreach is also the most seemingly old-fashioned: a conversation on a doorstep between a potential voter and a well-trained volunteer,” relates the cover story in the most recent New Republic.

Even more so if it’s the candidate in the flesh.

I first learned that campaigning with Parren Mitchell in 1970.

I’ve been reminded of it every time since.