FILING FOR NOVEMBER ELECTIONS OPEN NOW

Are you planning a run in November, School Board, City or Town Council, special district? Now's the time to file. August 7 is the last day, unless the incumbent does not run. Be sure you get enough correct signatures on your nomination papers, at least 30% more than the required number. You never know who has moved or doesn't know what District they are in.

And start drafting the all-important candidate's statement, those 200 words that give the voter an idea in a nutshell who you are, why you are qualified and what you'll do in office. Be precise, concise and clear. Have someone proofread it for you. List key endorsements and don't forget your website.

What ballot designation will you use? If you are running for school board, think about how your profession relates. Are you a teacher, a school psychologist, or a parent? All relevant. If not, it's not a fatal flaw, but those with titles that sound like they have experience in the job they are seeking have a leg-up on the competition for those who only read those three words on the ballot. And there are plenty of lazy voters.

Of course if you are the incumbent, your campaign, although never a shoo-in, has an advantage no one else can claim.

And as you know I am always going to say, start raising money for handouts, mail signs, and whatever else will help get your message out to voters at least 7 times in at least 3 different media. Sound daunting? it's how the winners win.

Lessons Political Consultants Learn

Even we seasoned campaigners can still learn from one another and from our clients and others involved in campaigns. Take for example my experience this weekend as a trainer in Direct Mail at the California Teachers' Association Political Training Academy in San Jose.

I was asked by a friend who's a trainer and organizer and all around amazing campaigner, to help her present a short talk on Direct Mail - my favorite topic.

Before our time to speak, we heard another veteran CTA campaigner talk about the ballot statement. How important it is and how you really can say a lot in 200 words or less. In fact, the problem has been to convince the candidates to say less, not more, in their ballot statements, not in an attempt to hide anything, but because brevity is everything in campaigns. The more text, and the denser the type, the fewer people will read it and those that do, may well miss the main points you are trying to make as they skim over the "wall of words."

I also learned that studies have shown that voters tend to look first (and possibly longest) at the side of the mail piece with their name on it. This is contrary to what many think, who think of the label side as the "back" of the mailer, and use it as a dumping ground for their long list endorsers in tiny print, or some dense language with their 12 point program on it.

Wrong. First of all, you don't know which way it will land in the mail box but chances are better than 50/50 it will be label side up as that's what the letter carrier is looking at. That's what you will see first. I wrote a blog post on this very topic in 2013.What's on the back of YOUR miler?

Second, you only get about 3 seconds of the voter's valuable time as he/she glances over your piece. Make the most of it on both sides, especially if it's a post card and those are the only sides you have.

If it's a folded piece, be mindful that both sides have to entice and lure the voter into opening it up, a process made more daunting when there is a sticky on one side, which there usually must be according to postal rules.

Knowing these and other "technical" rules, along with good graphics, a strong bulleted message and good timing, will help you send out the best and most persuasive mail you can to get voter's to cast their vote for you on Election Day.

Your Candidate Statement

For some people, those 200 words on the ballot will be all they read about your campaign. So make the most of them.

As noted in an earlier post, not all jurisdictions have the same requirements for how you organize those 200 words, so be sure you know the local rules first. Then proceed to answer the question on every voter's mind: What can you do for me?

Are you proposing new jobs, more business, less development? Whatever your issues are, list them succinctly and coherently in a few short paragraphs. State your qualifications. Are you the incumbent? If so, how have you improved the City or District? Are you looking to move up the political food chain? If so, how will what you have done in your current job help improve the lives of voters in the new one? Below is an example of a Planning Commissioner running for City Council. He mentions what he's done and specifics of what he'll do. His website is listed at the end.

Are you running against an incumbent? While you are not allowed to mention any opponents by name or description, you can say things like "For a long time, this District has been at an impasse. My skills (doing x, y z) will help move us forward. Then say how.

Be sure you list any high profile endorsers and mention your website.