Campaign Committees - What are they Good for?

No, I won't say, like the song  - "Absolutely nothing!" because they are good for a lot. They can help keep you focused. Help you find elements of your message, inform you of ongoing or new developments you might have missed and of course, volunteering for all those pesky little campaign tasks no one should have to do alone.

But they also can be distracting, discouraging and, sometimes, downright dangerous.

Often, when candidates tell me they don't need my services, or they "are going in a different direction," that's code for "I have a campaign committee. why should I spend money on a paid consultant?" 

Let's go over some of the dos and don't of the Campaign Committee.

Campaign committees are good for: 

1. Providing local on-the-ground insight. Members of your committee, if chosen wisely, can keep you apprised of what's going on in various parts of your district, or with various constituencies. They can keep you up to date on issues, breaking and otherwise, that are on people's minds. All this helps you craft a message for the voters.

2. Cheering you up when times get tough. They'll stand by you through thick and thin. They'll give you good news from farflung parts of the district. If they're true friends and advisors, they'll bring you the bad news too, like when the local grocery clerks are extolling the virtues of your opponent.

3. Grunt work. These are your volunteer leaders. They can be the backbone of your field campaign. Willing to walk precincts in the rain; to encourage others to join in; they'll sit with cell phones glued to their ears for hours making those calls to undecided voters. They'll hold house parties for you and get their friends and neighbors to attend, to donate and even to hold their own events.

They will lick stamps and stuff envelopes, when a quick fundraising letter needs to go out. They'll forward emails and get all their friends to "like" your Facebook page.

3. The cream of the crop will become field coordinators, phone bank operators, finance committee chairs. Every member of the committee should donate whatever they can to the campaign war chest.

Now for what they are not good for, in fact, may be toxic for:

1. Writing the campaign plan. Yes, everyone has good ideas, and no one's ideas should be completely ignored out of hand, but this is not where your plan is created or your strategy worked out. This is a leaderless group who needs to take direction, not try to give it.

2. Crafting the campaign message, or worse, the actual campaign materials you will leave at voters' doors and mail to their homes. Your committee is likely to have English majors, maybe even ad execs. You'll have artists and everyone will have a cousin, sister, uncle or good friend, who's a brilliant designer. While all that may be true, and sometimes good ideas arise from brainstorming sessions around the coffee table, those are the jobs of your consultant and the professionals they hire who understand campaigns and the special way messages must be crafted and targeted to get the most bang for your precious campaign buck.

3. Second guessing. Don't let the committee second guess your consultant. Pick one or two trusted sets of eyes to review the pieces for spelling errors or factual inaccuracies. But if you let 12 people have a say in everything, you'll  have twelve opinions. Let them know you value their input, but make sure the lines of authority are clear. And remember, you are the boss. You can fire volunteers, even though you don't pay them and they have the best intentions. Some people are natural downers and must be gently sent on their way or channeled into a more productive role.

I've see all of these and more pitfalls on campaigns. If candidates whom I interview go "in a different direction," I wish them well. Occasionally, they win their race in spite of it all. More often though, I hear from them months or years later (often when they've decided to take another crack at running) "Well, you were right. My committee really didn't know what they were doing. Are you available to help me this time around?"

I never gloat.