Sign Wars Redux

I have written about the sign wars before. Now, I have seen everything. Along with the candidates' signs in a public location, commercial messages are popping up to compete with space; same size as the "real" signs.

This is not right! Right?

Slow Vote

Excuses for not voting - or voting "fast"

I can't tell you the number of times I've heard people say "I couldn't decide how to vote on (school board, sewer board, water board, community services district or other down ballot race), so I just voted for the first name. That probably wasn't a good idea is it?"

Or they say "I couldn't decide who to vote for on (down ballot race) so I left it blank. Guess I should have done some homework."

Or "I didn't know who to vote for, but I've seen signs around town for (candidate so-and-so) so I just went with him. At least he went out and bought signs."

Or "I didn't vote for (so-and-so) because they called me during dinner. I never vote for someone who calls during dinner." And then they find out the guy who won, the other guy, may not have called them during dinner, but he isn't going to be looking out for their, or the district's, best interests either. 

You've heard all the excuses people have for either not voting, or leaving part of their ballot blank or voting because they saw a sign. the person was the incumbent or they had the same name as their aunt in Bakersfield. Well I have an antidote for that. I call it "Slow Vote" and I got the inspiration from a column in the S.F. Chronicle this week by Caille Millner on "Slow Reading."

Slow Vote

And she got the idea from the Slow Food movement. Slow reading is like taking your time to really read something, a book with substance that makes you think, something you can get real meaning out of, instead of skimming headlines or googling articles on topics of passing interest. Millner didn't invent Slow Reading; she heard about from other articles and just connected with it in a personal way. It made enough of an impression her to dedicate one of her weekly columns to it.

Millner learned that studies have shown that slow reading makes real differences in people's lives. A study published in Science showed that "reading literary fiction makes people more insightful and empathetic, a study in Neurology last year showing that reading helped elderly people avoid memory loss.."

So I had my own little brainstorm and thought "Slow Voting!" or "Slow Vote" (it just sounds better).

With Slow Vote, voters will actually take the time to learn about the candidates on the ballot, not just those at the top of the ticket but the down ballot races too. They will do more than watch the TV ads which are often negative and misleading.

They will do more than glance at the mail from the candidates on the way to the recycling bin. They will do more than see who the local newspaper endorsed.

They will read articles about the candidates from more than one news source. They will attend candidate forums and neighborhood coffees to meet the candidate personally and ask in-depth questions. They will read the campaign mail, all of it, from all sides, even the smaller print underneath the glowing bullet points.

Ideally, they would examine the reports made periodically to the Fair Political Practices Commission to see who has given how much money in each  race.

Will it work?

I'm a campaign consultant, I deal in bullet points and sound bites. When my clients show me their detailed plan for ending homelessness, preserving the environment or improving the District's budget, I distill it into easy to digest large print headlines and dramatic scripted scenes for mail and electronic ads.

But I'd rather send voters the whole package. Show them how smart my client is; how well though out her proposals are (assuming, that is, that they are well thought out and actually accomplishable).

But will it work? Probably not in the foreseeable future. So keep looking for mailers, RV ads and robo calls.  But do read the fine print, especially the disclaimers on the TV ads (if you can; they tend to go by pretty darned fast), and become as informed as you can be before you vote this November.

Take a deep breath and vote slow.

What we talk about when we talk about viability

Here's a dirty little secret of the campaign world. Specifically of those who endorse candidates for elective office.

They will send you questionnaires by the boatload. They will grill you on your positions on all the issues they care about. They will ask about your background and experience and judge how well you present yourself. They may tell you they are mightily impressed with your credentials.

Then they will ask about your viability. That's Viability, spelled M-O-N-E-Y. Yes, money is what they want to know about. How much of it do you have? How much can you raise? And how much do you need to win your election.

If the equation comes out lopsided, that is you don't have enough, or as much as the other guy, they are likely to decide your candidacy is not viable. Say bye bye to that endorsement you know you were most suited to receive.

And you thought it was all about qualifications to do the job, integrity and a willingness to work hard.

Sorry, Charlie, it's all about the money. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. If the key organizations don't endorse you because you don't have the money, you can't get the money from those who are waiting to see what the endorsers do. 

Nobody wants to back a loser, and they're not willing to take a chance on you by helping your campaign get off the ground with their endorsement and the contribution that usually goes with it.

And so it goes. This is how we get second rate candidates in office, who are beholden to special interests. They take the money from all and sundry, thereby looking "viable" to the endorsers.

They get the endorsement. They win the race, and then people are surprised when those they elected get caught in messy "pay to play" schemes, and are forced to leave their positions prematurely to "spend more time with their families."

Back on the Trail

You'd think we hadn't been doing much (because I haven't been writing much) but we have been busy on some campaigns. This season is a hot one, with campaigns all over the North Bay map. Sonoma, Marin, Solano, Napa, Yolo, Lake Counties.

So now it's juggling candidates and their various nees.

Most candidates need a few basics:

• A remit envelope to get checks, endorsements and offer to volunteer
• A website to list their isues, bios and endorsers
• A walk piece or handout to leave with the people they meet on the campaign trail
• Some social media
• A letter to potential supporters to solicit funds and ask for help
• A data base to keep track of endorsers, donors and volunteers
• A telephone - to call potential donors for campaign contributions
• A good campaign message
• A good campaign message delivery system - mailers, tv and radio, speeches and more

And a few good people:

• A campaign consultant to make sure these things are in the works and on schedule
• A campaign manager to make sure the candidate is on time, knows where to be, handles the press and other issues and act as chief cheerleader and nag
• A treasurer to handle the finances and file reports on time
• A field coodinator to handle the volunteers and oversee precinct walking and phone banking to voters
• Volunteers to do all of the above and more

You could always use a fundraiser, a data base manager and some gofers to help it all run smoothly, but know this - You, the candidate, must be the one to sell yourself, make the phone calls for contributions, meet the voters, go to debates and answer the questionnaires. Your staff, volunteers and friends and family can all help, but ultimately, You are the salesforce.

Oh, yeah, take a few moments to breathe each day and maybe once a week or so, kiss your family.  It will all be over soon and you'll be in office or back at your day job. either way, you'll have had a real adventure with lots of stories to tell.

When Progressive Women Run, We all Win

Do you vote for the woman no matter what? No, says the Campaign Slut.  But given all druthers, we'll take woman. Our druthers are that they be pro-choice (a no-brainer), progressive in other ways, pro-woman, pro-Universal health care, anti-big bank, pro-credit union, pro-organic food, anti-fracking, nukes and big oil. Say no to big pharma, agribiz, believe believe believe in global warming and do something about it; education not warfare.

Oh, your typical liberal, one with guts, spine or whatever you want to call it so long as it's not "balls."


So, let's all be looking for some progressive female candidates when there is an opening in a State or local office, or even when there isn't.  A strong progressive woman can take out some wussy conservative dude any time, if she's got her slut on and her team behind her!

Tips from the Trail

Do candidates know what they want?  Maybe, but do they know how to get it? If they did, they wouldn't need us.  So when you are dealing with candidates, you need to be tough. Tough love is what they need.  

No, you have to tell them, you do not need to spend all your time (or any of it) organizing your endorsers into categories, the alphabet, where they live or anything else. Just get their vital statistics, most importantly how much they can donate, will they volunteer, their title and their email for future contact, and get it to the data base person.

Listen to your consultants. Yes you are the ultimate decider. But you are paying good money for their advice. Take it.