You lost, What Now?

Don't despair. You put yourself out there and ran a good race. I've been there myself, many times. It can be demoralizing, but it helps to pick yourself up and think about the next time.

First take a look at some of these contributing factors to losing races. Of course, sometimes you are just outspent or out-campaigned. (Running against an incumbent is especially hard, no matter how accomplished you are.) They may help in your next outing.

1. Did you have a consultant? A good consultant can help you position yourself by identifying key issues for you to distinguish yourself from the field, targeting voters, so you mail only to those most likely to vote in your election and creating a good image and message for you to use throughout the campaign. She can also help you see pitfalls and obstacles that you need to overcome.

2. Did you run against an incumbent and fail to tell the voters what he was doing wrong? It's hard to run against an incumbent. They have name recognition and that all-important "I" beside their name on the ballot. You need to tell the voters why they should fire him and hire you. If there's no problem, it will be that much harder to win, without spending a lot more money and doing some "out of the box" thinking.

In a first time college board race for an unknown in a race with three incumbents, our candidate did just that, she outspent the rest, pointed out the real issues that were keeping the school from being its best and made sure her message was heard, in mail, on TV and on the web. She came in first in a 5 way race.

3. Is your material too wordy? The old saying "A picture is worth a thousand words" works in politics too. Show, don't tell. People will not read your long list of accomplishments in paragraph format, but they will pay attention to eye-grabbing graphics, headlines and bullet points. Of course make sure everything you say is relevant and important enough to hold their attention until they get into the voting booth.

4. Did you spend your money on signs and bumper stickers, instead of another piece of mail or handouts for a few more precincts? Signs and other campaign "swag" are fine if you can afford them, but make sure you have the bases covered first. The voting public must see your name and attach it to your message several times before it sticks. Just having the most signs is not enough. 
What you stand for, what you'll do for them, is what the voters want to know. Tell them, repeatedly, succinctly and graphically.

5. Did you make the most common mistake of all, not raising money? No one likes to ask for money. But remember without it, you will not be able to get your message to the voters. You don't need to have the most money, but you need enough to be viable. Practice with your friends and family, talk to other candidates who've run and won and start early, before the next race gets off the ground.

If you do these few simple things, you will be in a much better position the next time you run.

                                                             Candidate practicing her "Stump" speech

Post-Election Day Euphoria and Letdown

It's the day after election. You may have won; you may have lost. You may be kicking yourself for not sending out one last mailer or taking out one last ad, or doing one last precinct walk. Or you may be congratulating yourself for that late robo call, phone bank, GOTV effort and honk and wave at some prominent intersections.

will you ever know what exactly it was that made the difference? Proably not. But I bet the guy who got the City he was running in wrong is kicking himself up one side and down the other.

I bet the woman who decided she didn't need a consultant because she had experience volunteering on other people's campaigns is thinking twice. I bet the guy who thought more words and fewer graphics on his mail would do the trick is still pondering why the voters failed to get his message, and I'm sure the woman who felt fundraising was not necessary because "everyone knows me in my town," is wishing she'd listened to her advisers a little more.

All may not be lost in some races, however.  I know of two recent instances where a candidate, down on election night, made up the difference and then some to win when the last late absentee ballots were counted.

If less than a percentage point separates you and you did well among the voters on election day, and you campaigned up until the last minute, there is still hope. The numbers of people who turn their absentee ballots in at the polls are increasing every year.  Wait until the last vote is counted (usually about two weeks after Election Day), and you may still be a winner.

Vote like your Rights Depend on it - They do!

We take a break from the Campaign Tip of the Day series to bring you something from the "You can't make this stuff up" department.

90 year old former House Speaker Jim Wright was told "No vote for you!" because, even though he had voted in every election since 1944, he was turned away for a Texas ID card, which is now required by draconian voters suppression laws in that state. Why? His driver's license had expired in 2010 and he failed to bring a birth certificate to the agency issuing IDs.

If this can happen to someone with credentials like Wright's, think of all the people lacking sufficient proof of their existence, like elders in nursing homes and people whose births may have been unrecorded due to being born at home, our of wedlock, in poverty, or those who lack the wherewithal to procure the necessary paperwork.

Wright plans to return with the necessary documentation in time to vote in the upcoming election. Not everyone is so savvy or so lucky. Bad portent for the future.

Read the article here.

Campaign Tip of the Day - Proof your Mailings!

In a strange twist for someone who ought to know better, a candidate for a local Town Council seat sent out a mailer with a headline reading that he was running for a seat on a different Council altogether in another town!

How does this happen? He claimed the error was the fault of the printer. He wanted the mail to get out fast as election day was near and did not have time to proof it.

Really? I always proof my mail before it goes to the printer, then again, before it is printed. Yes, typos and misspellings have been known to occur, but this is the first time I've heard of a mailer going out for a completely different seat in a different town.  If he didn't have enough time, he should have designated a trusted staff or volunteer to do the proofing. Printers don't generally create the mail, they just print what is sent to them by the campaign.

Well, live and learn, as they say. Here's the story with the erroneous mailer on display:

Right race, wrong town: Marin council hopeful sends botched mailer

By Richard Halstead
Marin Independent Journal

Posted:   11/01/2013 06:31:25 PM PDT

A campaign mailer for Steve Burdo mentions the Larkspur City Council on one side, San Anselmo city council on the other, as seen in San Rafael, Calif. on Friday, Nov. 1, 2013. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal) Alan Dep

Click photo to enlarge

A campaign mailer for Steve Burdo mentions the Larkspur City Council on one side, San Anselmo...

A candidate for San Anselmo Town Council who works as a campaign consultant sent out a mailer last week that accidentally read: "Please join us in supporting Steve Burdo for Larkspur City Council."

Burdo, who works as a public affairs consultant with Kathleen Russell Consulting, is one of three candidates competing in Tuesday's election to fill the two-year opening on the San Anselmo Town Council. The other two candidates are Doug Kelly, who sells computerized point-of-sale systems, and Matt Brown, owner of Meridian Commercial, a real estate brokerage.

Burdo said the mailer error occurred because the printer neglected to send him a proof of the design before printing and mailing it.

"The protocol for printing is that they put it in on the press, they develop a proof and then they email you the proof for approval, and you say thumbs up or thumbs down," Burdo said. "That never happened in this case."

Burdo said he wanted the mailer to go out as soon as possible so the printer was rushing to finish the job. Burdo, who worked on the campaign of San Anselmo Councilman Ford Greene, said he has never had a mistake like this occur with a client.

"It's very ironic that it happens during mine," he said.

Read more by clicking on the headline above.

Campaign Tip of the Day - Start Early

It's not too early to be thinking of your 2014 race. Will you run for City Council, School Board, County Supervisor or something higher the food chain? Filing for the June primary will be here soon, especially if you are thinking of collecting signatures in lieu of the fee. Even if your race isn't until November, think about the budget, the issues and how you think you will present yourself to voters.

Start raising money. Especially for the big-ticket races, Assembly, Senate, Congress. If it's an open seat you won't be the only one eying the race. So start locking up those endorsers - and donors - soon.

Campaign Tip of the Day - Plan Ahead

So you're down to the wire, one week left to go. You've spent all your money on mailing that last beautiful mailer, and you notice that your competitors all have banner ads on the local press web sites. Wait! you say, I want that. I need some last minute flash for the finish. You call your consultant, the designer, the ad people. You can get in, but just barely. You didn't budget for this, but what the hey, you'll just make yourself another loan.  You're hoping for a big win. At least some kind of win.

You can do this and sweat it, or you can plan ahead. Budget for last minute needs you may not anticipate. Will the other side send late mail, maybe even a hit piece? You want to be ready, not scrambling for a quickie mail piece to hit back.

Budget wisely, plan ahead; but don't horde the cash - it won't do any good in the bank on the day after the election; and you'll be in good shape for the dash to the finish line.

Campaign Tip of the Day - A Good Graphic is better than Lots of Lousy Language

I wish I were artistic. I have good ideas all the time that could be expressed, if only I could draw or collage or montage or whatever it takes to express them graphically. Sigh.. But I can't, so I work with a very good graphic designer. One who is well versed in political campaigns and understands the difference between commercial and campaign art.

A good campaign mail piece should contain few words and lots of pictures. A good photo of the candicate is a must. A head and shoulders shot and not one that is from your high-school yearbook.

Pictures of the district, of key supporters (especially if they go with short testimonials) and pictures that depict your issues, standing up for better schools, saving open space, even transparency in government all can be graphically illustrated.

A lot of words explaining your ten point program in detail will not be read. But a few short bullet points with the key issues, your relevant skills and background and how you will move things forward accompanied by sharp interesting graphics will get the voter to take the mail out of the box.

Think about your logo, your font, whether to use a border and what colors best reflect you and your campaign? A good graphic designer with experience in  the political world can make all the difference between blah, unread mail and an eye-popping vote getting message that not only grabs the voter's eye but answers that all important question on every voters' mind: What can you do for me?