Don't Listen to your Closest Friends!

Why, you are wondering, should you not listen to your closest friends? Aren't they ones who have your best interest at heart? Yes, but they are also usually the ones who know the least about what works n campaigns. You will hear thing like "I never vote for candidates who send a bunch for mail!" or "if they call at dinner time, I just hang up."

Sometimes, it's the people with a little bit of campaign experience who have the worst advice. "Why don't you have more signs up?" You'll never win without the most signs." or "In this town, people don't like slick campaign pieces. They won't vote for anyone who uses consultants to design fancy mailers."

Those statements are all toxic to a good campaign. well-meaning maybe; heartfelt. They may believe this way, but they are not running your campaign. At least I hope they aren't. Let's take these statements apart:

"I never vote for candidates who send a bunch for mail!"  These people wouldn't have voted for that heavy mail candidate anyway. If their candidate sent "a bunch of mail," do you honestly think they'd turn around and vote for the other guy, the one with little mail who has views they don't agree with? No. Mail works. It gets your message across to voters in the most visceral, physical way. Even if they toss it upon receipt they have to handle it and to glance at it enough to see, and register, your name, maybe even your three priorities listed below. Not mention your nicely designed logo and professional, but friendly, photo. Do it two or three more times, and you cement the relationship you started with that person. If they don't vote for you, they were never going to vote for you anyway. But if they don't know you, you've introduced yourself and told them why you would make the best choice.

"If they call at dinner time, I just hang up." Sure, but not before hearing your name. Or if they let it go to voice mail, they may hear your whole 30 second spiel. They'll be getting other calls at dinnertime too. And since everyone's dinnertime is slightly different, you can't always miss the dinner hour, without running into kid's bedtime, their favorite TV show, or even their own bedtime. Call when it works for you (if reasonable,; we usually stop all phone calls by 8:30 PM) and your volunteers, so long as you keep it short and on point, they'll get the message.

"Why don't you have more signs up?" There's a famous poster used by the Obama campaign. "I'm a Yard Sign; I can't vote. Go knock doors." It's apropos to all campaigns. Sure, it's nice to see your name all over town on signs in windows and on lawns, but the people with the signs are those most committed to you. You'll likely see just as many or more for the other guy. The people without signs are the ones you need to reach. And spending time and precious money on "sign wars" isn't getting your message out to the voters. Hitting them at the door, on the phone and in the mail are the things that count.

"In this town, people don't like slick campaign pieces. They won't vote for anyone who uses consultants to design fancy mailers." This may be my favorite one. It's heard in small towns across America. It may have at one time been true. Maybe when your friend ran for school board in 1987, she could do it with homemade signs and postcards printed at the local mom and pop shop. Today, all campaigns must be more sophisticated to win votes. Your mail must be sharp and well designed. It must catch the attention of the voters. And the competition at the mailbox isn't just with the other guy; it's with all the slick advertising you get every single day from a myriad of companies. So don't look at it as slick, but professional. Make your mail stand out. No, don't send one piece every day. That will get old and turn people off. Send three or four well designed punchy mailers that stick to issues. If you need to point out the difference between you and the other guy, do it in a clever comparison piece. You don't have to get nasty to make your point.

If there are several people running, it's even more important that you step away from the crowd and get seen and heard. All of these techniques are necessary to a winning campaign. The rule of thumb is you "touch" the voter 7 times, in small campaigns and large. In the mailbox, on the phone, at the door. If they come to a debate, that's great too, but most won't. You have to meet them where they live. Everyone has a mailbox, or a post Office box they check every day. Use it to your advantage.

When Consultants Collide

Another in the occasional series of  A Day in the Life of a Campaign Consultant:

You can't win them all. Sometimes you can't even get them. Read on to see what happens when life hands consultants lemons.

He walked up to me as though it were perfectly natural, as though we were friendly to one another. The room was crowded with partygoers and well-wishers. The event was for a local politician, a fundraiser on his behalf to get his campaign off to a sound start. I never even expected to see him there.

Let alone have him approach with a big smile on him face. Something was up. This man, we’ll call him Sherman, had stabbed me in a back a few years ago over a political campaign. In fact, he had stolen a campaign away from me, convincing the committee in charge of it that my ideas were all wet, so to speak (It was for a school bond matter that needed to go before the voters), and he, Sherman, could do a better job.

It came as a total surprise as he and I had worked peacefully together on a past issue. It had all worked out well, and we parted on good terms. So when I saw him at the meeting, I naturally said “Hi Sherm,” in an enthusiastic tone of voice.

The look on his face should have been a giveaway. He did not smile back but grimaced, as though his teeth ached. And then he pounced, starting from a crouch, “There seem to be a few problems with this,” he said, pointing to a flyer we had prepared, which the committee had been handing out with no complaints to date. “It doesn’t convey what we want to say.”

“In fact, it makes no sense at all.” Now he was loud. I could see he had half the room on him side, having prepared the moment. The other half sat placidly. No one contradicted him.  There was no point in explaining that the issue was not so much about schools but local control. Hence, the picture we used of people gathering together. 

There was no point in saying this design and message had passed muster with the very people who now joined in his tirade. There was certainly no point in mentioning that we had a contract. All irrelevant. It was a lynching. I crept from the room like a beaten dog, stunned.

Later I was to learn he had taken over the campaign, lost the campaign, and somewhere along the line, lost many of his followers. It didn’t matter. He had become my nemesis. When he turned up in another group I belonged to, I decided to keep a wary eye.

They say there are some people who are pure sociopaths. You can’t reason with them. You can’t appeal to their better nature, they don’t have one, you can only keep a close watch on their movements. Like a sidewinder, they slither up and attack the unsuspecting.

Even when you are alert, their fangs can be sunk into your flesh before you have time to scream.

Today, he was smiling. His most insincere smile I recognized by now. His “I’m coming for you” smile. It froze my blood. What could I do? Stuck in the crowd, fascinated, I watched him go to work.

“Are you [the politician’s] consultant,” he asked.

“I’m helping him,” I say.

“Well, you either are or you aren’t” he said, his smile beginning to harden, his eyes wide and staring.

The psycho bells were going off. The “let me out of here” alarms buzzing in my brain. Without missing a beat, he reached into his bag and pulled out some paper, which he proceeded to unfold. Reams of paper it seemed had been folded down into an 8 ½ by 11 inch package. “Look at this” he gloated, for what else could he be doing? He was showing me his mail from the campaign he had stolen from me. “You can get all this information on here and it mails for the same as a postcard.” He was triumphant. Was I supposed to show surprise, delight, horror?

“But you didn’t win” I say as calmly as I can.

“Only by 179 votes,“ he went on, undaunted. A small crowd seemed to have broken off the main throng and gathered around us. Could I escape?

“Look at all the information!” he insisted.

“People won’t read all that.”

“They do,” he continued, hearing nothing I was saying. He proceeded to tell me how people read it at the door, they read it in the post office.  

“OK,” I said, looking or a way out. “Aha” I thought, if I can’t get out, he has to leave.

"Thank you for sharing; I think that lady over there needs to talk to you” pointing vaguely toward the back of the building. 

“Oh” he exclaimed, quickly refolding him treasure and heading away.

I did the same, snatching up my purse and leaving out the side gate. As I walked home, I wondered when and how he would move in on this candidate, with whom I had only a general understanding not a contract.

If he falls for his crap, I think, he’s not the man for me, or for the job he seeks. Small comfort.

Neither of us got the gig with the candidate and he won his election anyway.

And here is the "When life hands you lemons" recipe for ginger lemon bars. Yum.

Lemon Ginger Bars

Crust:
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter, cut into cubes
1 Tablespoon crystallized ginger
Lemon Topping:
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
additional powdered sugar for sifting over top

Heat the oven to 350°. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, butter, sugar and crystallized ginger. Pulse until dough starts to form. Press dough into an ungreased 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Build up the sides about 1/2 inch. Bake for 20 minutes.

In the bowl of the food processor — no need to wash it out — blend topping ingredients until light and foamy, about three minutes. Pour lemon mixture over crust. Bake for about 25 minutes until set and no indentation remains when touched in the center. Cool and cut into squares. Sift over additional powdered sugar if desired.

Consultants - Are they a shady crowd?

I got to thinking about consultants and whether they are, or seem to be, more "shady" than those in other professions. As a member of this profession, I like to think of myself as ethical and anything but shady. Unfortunately, I have come across too many of my brethren and, less frequently, sisthren (not a word I know), who might be less than totally above board. Even in small local races.

An example. The guy who laundered his own client's money to sent out a gratuitous hit piece full of outright lies and slander about his opponent in a water board race. Through a labyrinthine process by which the money went all over the state and eluded disclosure at several levels, it took five years for the truth to out. The candidate, now the sitting water board member got a slap on the wrist in the form of piddling $5000 fine. He's still there.

How about the guy who took the name of a well known and well regarded, but languishing organization and made his own slate card out of it to benefit his wife, running for a City Council race? How about imaginary money for work he did on her campaign and claimed was paid for by a loan - from her.

Then there's the one who stole a campaign from yours truly, lost the race, then came up to me at a party where he was attempting to again wrest a client away, and flashed his materials (the ones that lost the previous race remember) under my nose.

Some consultants just have gall.

Everyone's a Campaign Consultant - Choose yours wisely

Have you noticed how many new campaign consultants pop up every year? Is this the hot new career move, or what? For you candidates or potential candidates out there, vet carefully.  Does your consultant have a track record? A winning one that is. Does he/she have experience in your type of race? Cost isn't everything. Winning is.

Why anyone wants to join this profession is beyond me. It's tough. It's fast. It can of course be heady and ego-boosting when your candidate wins. Are some consultants past thir sell-by date?

Age isn't the issue; recycled campaign ads, generic mail messages, lackluster attention to detail. Those can be clues. Sometimes the "Young and hungry" are going to give you better, more personalized service.  Sometimes it's the experienced team that specializes in your campaign. This cycle (2013) is set, but 2014 and beyond is just getting shaped up.

There is an art to campaigning. Less is more, and all that. If your message is more words than pictures, you may have a problem. If your signs are unreadable, you just wasted a bundle. How much is the commission (if any) your consultant adds to the cost of print, media or other materials? Is a flat fee a better deal?

And if you're a woman, consider a female consultant who "gets" your particular needs. Still ask all the pertinent questions. But women helping women is still a good thing in this male dominated world of politics.

Ask these questions and more at the beginning of the relationship. And you can always break up if the "fit" isn't right.