Election's Over for now

Yay, the election is over, and with it comes a mixed bag of emotions. Hooray, our candidate for Supervisor in Nevada County, Heidi Hall, won her seat easily and with a large margin. Way to go Heidi. Our judicial candidate in Marin County is in a virtual tie for first place with another candidate in what was a hard fought nine way race. Now we start over without missing a beat (or not too many), for a November runoff. Fourth of July parade is the first stop on this trip.

Sad that Bernie Sanders did not carry California and is just hanging on by the skin of his teeth in my Congressional district. That's means I do not get to go to Philadelphia as an elected delegate. As third woman in a man/woman alternating scheme, I'm in sixth place overall.

I also put my name in for an at-large delegate and Party Leader or Elected Official (known as a PLEO; I am a local Party leader and I do hold positions within the State Party too). However, I did not get one of the coveted spots. Many good people who have been working within the Party for years and a number of energetic newcomers did make the cut and a hearty congratulations to them. This will be an exciting Convention and Presidential election.

I would love to be a fly on the wall inside the committee rooms, instead of a passive viewer at home.

We do have the Republican Convention first to entertain us all. (Putting the best spin on the presumption that He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named is the nominee; but anything could happen there too, so stand by for news at 11!)

Election night found us at a local watering hole with our victorious judicial candidate Mike Coffino and his friends. We ate salads and drank wine.

Details elude me. Invent your own. In the meantime, here is a delicious Beach Martini and Ocean Cobb salad to tempt you. I call it what to eat on your way to the airport from a Democratic Executive Board meeting in Long Beach California. It's what I did this weekend. No recipes, but you can figure them out. Enjoy!

Game over - New game on!

It's never too soon to start campaigning for the next cycle, or to start planning anyway. You lost? Take today off, regrop, figure out what went wrong, what went right, and if you think it might work the next time.

Sadly, today the country lost. But we are resilient and will pick up and move forward. We survived Nixon and Bushes. 2016 - here we come!

Tip of the Day: Campaign Manager? Campaign Consultant? What the heck is the difference?

Many people, including many candidates, don't understand the difference between a campaign consultant and a campaign manager. So let's talk about each a bit.

There are a variety of campaign consultants, some specializing in different aspects of a campaign, such as fundraising, direct mail, media or polling.  What we are talking about here is a general consultant, or GC, who acts as a chief strategist and helps define the campaign's direction, message and budget.  The GC often hires the other consultants necessary or as in my firm, GreenDog Campaigns, performs some, if not all, the functions in-house. The GC does not need to be in the same geographic location as the candidate, but should be able to have a good understanding of the office sought and the needs of the District, as well as the practices of past campaigns, in terms of money spent, important endorsements and the like.

A campaign manager, on the other hand, is someone who works with the campaign on a day to day basis, making sure that local staff are hired, volunteers are in place, the candidate knows where he or she is to be at any given time, often accompanying the candidate to endorsement and other meetings.

The campaign manager is he chief cheerleader and campaign nag, all rolled into one. The GC will rely on the campaign manager for insights into the campaign's doings. If the GC is out of the area, there will often be frequent phone conference between the candidate, the campaign manager and the GC or a member of his/her staff.

Smaller campaigns often do without a GC. Conversely, some GC's also act as campaign managers for their candidates in smaller races, often supplemented by a volunteer coordinator and other volunteer or part time staff.

         Some casual advice from a seasoned campaign consultant at a fundraiser can be very helpful!

One thing I know for sure.  As the old saying goes, "a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client," so too, a candidate who tries to do his own campaign, if not a fool, is surely in for a very tough ride.  Even if your campaign manager is a trusted volunteer and you have no GC, it pays to have campaign professionals design your mail, target your audience and vet your messaging along the way. It could well be the difference between victory or defeat on Election Day.