Running for
Public Office
by
George
R. Dean, P.E.
State Representative, Kansas
Has some politician ever made you mad? Has a
political body ever made a decision that, to you, seems they have been smoking funny
cigarettes? Have you ever wished
that you were there to make that critical decision?
Maybe there were some issues that troubled you. Maybe the person holding office is voting
in such a way as to hurt the district or harm the state. If so you may have wanted to run
for political office.
Before you know it, you read every article you can
on local or state government. You want to catch the local evening news in case you missed
a report on a particular bill or hot political topic. It eventually becomes an itch that
you just can’t scratch. Not a day goes by that you don’t talk to someone about
your political interest.
There are many offices to run for, such as: - State
Senate, State Representative ( or Assembly), County Commission (or Supervisor), City
Council, School Board, Township Trustee just to name a few. Unless you have access to more
than a million dollars, you can forget running for
U S President, U S Senate, and State Governor. Even
still U S Congress will take about a half a million and State Senate about 50 to 100
thousand dollars. That still leaves many offices that make critical decisions which affect
all of us.
Your mind just keeps coming back to the idea of
running for office. If you are that serious about running for public office, sit down by
yourself and look at the issues honestly. It will steal time and talents away from your
technical and professional career. Look to the financial side to see if you can really
afford to serve. It will take time away from your real business. If you are only
interested in one issue, then you probably should not run because the public office holder
will be confronted by a myriad of issues. Being so one issue robs other issues of their
rightful debate.
Build Experience
Before you jump from the frying pan into the fire,
determine the political party, with which you best fit. You might also consider the
demographics of your area, considering if it is vastly dominated by one political party or
evenly split. If one party dominates the district you may want to belong to that party if
you want to get elected to an office and if they are not too crosswise with your opinions.
Joining political clubs in your area is a way to get
acquainted with the folks that have worked in campaigns and been party stalwarts for many
years. You will have a chance to meet candidates and hear opinions from various sources
and state your opinions. You will also hear feedback on your opinions and develop new
concepts.
Another experience that a person may acquire is that
of a precinct committee person’s job. This is probably the threshold level of
politics. It gets you to know your party and your neighborhoods as well as others knowing
you. Many candidates will seek the help of a precinct committee person in their campaign.
Also, think about working in someone else’s campaign. Volunteer to stuff envelopes,
distribute literature or walk with a candidate from door to door meeting people to get a
feel for campaigning. Help with campaign sign placement, telephone calling, fund raising
and holding coffees in your home.
So now you have decided that you must run for
office What do you do?
You are about to embark on a great adven- ture that
will be a life changing event. Your pulse begins to beat faster as you think about running
for office. As you work your way through the serious business of running for office,
remember that you are not alone. Your spouse, children, and business associates should be
involved. In fact they may be your biggest fans. You will need each one of them,
especially your spouse, because you go through so much when running for public office,
your spouse will be experiencing all that you do. Locate the chairperson of your county
political party and let that person know that you intend to file for the office. Most
times you will need the chairperson’s support. Next you will need to file the
appropriate papers with the state’s or county’s election commissioner. You may
want to have a press release submitted to the media at the time you file.
Make a Strategic Plan
Before the fireworks start and the campaign
war gets hot and heavy you should sit down with a knowledgable friend (who may become
your campaign chairperson) and plan a campaign with what must happen and when it must
happen. This may have to be altered after you consider your opposition and your financial
plan. Often the state’s political parties offer campaign workshops and loan out
experienced workers to help candidates with their own local campaigns.
PLAN YOUR WORK and
WORK YOUR PLAN.
Build a Campaign Platform
Certain issues drove you to consider running for
public office in the first place. These will be the cornerstones of your platform. When
you first consider running for office, you should be aware of the major public issues.
Start a notebook and fill it with clippings on the major issues. Consider the opinions of
the political acquaintances and friends. These will help you formulate your position on
the issues. Write a short paper on six to ten of the issues and this will become your
platform.
Measure the Opposition
If the present office holder has decided not to run
for re-election yielding an open seat, this gives you a good possibility of being elected.
Look at the others that are considering running for the same office for which you are
planning to run. If the person, who is the opposition, is of the same party you will have
to plan for a primary election race. Some people of the party and close friends will help
you if you ask but the local party will probably not help in your primary and you want to
make sure that the party dose does not help the opposition either. A primary campaign will
be conducted much like the general election campaign. Sometimes this is THE election.
Estimate how much campaigning that you will have to do, how much help you will need, and
how much it will cost. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE OPPOSITION
If the opposition is of the other political party
for the open seat and there is no primary opposition, you need to estimate what the
electorate will look for in the candidate. Also you will want to know how much support the
opponent will receive from their political party and special interest groups. Again do not
underestimate the support of the opposition.
If the incumbent is of the same party and is popular
you might as well forget running in opposition to him or her and help in their campaign
for reelection this year. You will be someone that has an input to a friendly ear.
If the incumbent is of the other party, you will
have quite a challenge to unseat the present office holder. They will have done some good
things for a certain segment of the population and special interest groups representing
them will be supporting the incumbent. However, your party will be supporting you along
with other special interest groups. Your job is to show some of the bad decision and votes
the incumbent has made and how much better of a job you can do for the district.
Campaign Committee
Most political campaigns have a core committee that
operates many aspects of the run for office and each member needs to be committed,
responsible, trustworthy, and energetic The most important committee member is the
TREASURER. This person is responsible for the funds, which come to the candidate,
establish and maintain a bank account, pay the bills and make the reports to any ethics
commission. A bad treasurer can lose incoming monies, misallocate funds, and get the
candidate in trouble with late reports or the courts.
The committee chairman needs to be a coordinator of
volunteers. A campaign chairman can help a great deal in the effort and also as a
volunteer coordinator:
Coordinating the activities such as distributing
campaign literature, fund-raising events, yard sign locations, telephone outreach, voter
registration efforts and get out the vote initiatives. By putting someone in charge of
each category the task becomes more manageable.Having someone who will be responsible for
maintaining names of volunteers and to coordinate their work on your campaign is best
Volunteers are very important to the candidate. Just
as you must ask for contributions, you must also ask people to work as volunteers on your
campaign. Like asking for contributions, asking for help is often difficult for
candidates, never the less it is important for you as a candidate Many of the
organizations have volunteer helpers established. These include your church, social clubs,
professional clubs, local labor unions, teachers, chambers of commerce, political clubs
retired Citizen organizations, and youth groups. Giving a volunteer one specific project
is best."Sally would you walk door-to-door with me?" "Tom would be
responsible for putting up yard signs." "Larry would you help label direct mail
pieces." Of course, if you need help on a project do not hesitate to ask all known
volunteers. Volunteers, like everyone else, appreciate people asking their opinion. Their
opinions should be listened to and sometimes solicited, however, do not get stuck in a
situation in which they expect to be involved in the nitty gritty of planning the
campaign. That is for you and your circle of advisors. You or your campaign chairman
should take time periodically to send a thank you note to your volunteers.
Financial Plans
You should develop a campaign budget after you have
organized your strategic plan and written your campaign platform. While it is true that
you never raise enough money to do everything you want or need to do, the best approach is
to write a plan that gives you a chance of winning. As you are raising money you may have
to adjust your plan, or use different campaign techniques, but it is best to first decide
what you think you need to give your self a reasonable chance at winning the election. The
budget should be fairly detailed in the items where you expect to spend the campaign
money. Also you should make three levels of budget which are based on a Cadillac budget,
Chevy budget, and a motor scooter budget. Make sure that the motor scooter budget will win
the election. Just remember NEVER GO TOO DEEP IN DEBT financing your own campaign. After
the election nobody will help fund the looser.
Fund Raising is necessary for a successful
campaign. Asking for help and money is often the toughest part of campaigning for a
candidate. Pride, egos, fear of rejection, concerns about paybacks, lack or experience,
etc., cause candidates to delay or sometimes never ask for funds.
Rarely, do candidates win a race without volunteers
or money. The following are specific rules for raising money
Rule 1
MAKE A LIST Make a list of everyone you know
regardless of where they live. Include relatives, church members, business relationships,
neighbors. The list is endless. Then contact them personally or in a letter.
Rule 2
ASK. Few people offer to contribute to a campaign.
Yet, many people do give money when asked. As long as your request is friendly,
appropriate, and polite, a request should be made to everyone you know.
Rule 3
PERSONAL SOLICITATIONS. The best way to gather
contributions is to make a personal request. Occasionally someone else may be a better
person to make a request, but usually the candidate is the best person to ask.
Rule 4
THANK YOU’S. Always send a written thank you
within 48 to 98 hours of receiving a contribution. A handwritten thank you is preferred,
but phone calls and typed letters are good. Do not send a form letter or a photo copied
letter.
Campaign Information
You are a good candidate for the public office for
which you are running and to which you will be a representative of your constituents. Now
all you have to do is let everyone know that fact. Getting the information out is a big
part of running for office. My old political science teacher has said and I have
experienced that it is true that NAME IDENTIFICATION is a big part of running for
office. These facts lead to brochures, yard signs, billboards, letters and media coverage.
Many candidates like to have coordinated color
schemes on their brochure, letter heads and signs. It is like their signature. You will
need palm card and two or three brochures. The palm card is a small card, maybe 3 x 4
(index card size) that you carry with you that has a summary of your issues and your
picture that you give out wherever you go, such as door-to-door or personal appearances.
You may also want to have your address and telephone number on this card in case someone
would like to support your campaign as a volunteer or with money.
Your brochures should be attractive, eyecatching,
informative, and makes someone want to vote for you. First your brochure should have your
name displayed boldly on each page, name identification, name identification,
name identification, NAME IDENTIFICATION. Next most all
campaign brochures use a good picture of the candidate. Spend some money and get a
professional head and shoulder picture of yourself to put on the front of the brochures
and palm cards but not on a yard sign. This picture is only second to meeting the people
personally. Most of the people will only scan the brochure so you want to develop the best
positive image in the shortest amount of time possible. The use of pictures of you with
groups and that tells some kind of story is very good. Also use headlines, short positive
statements of your position on the issues. You also need to put some substance in the
brochure for those who will read it in depth. Elaborate on each of your issues, space
permitting.
You need to know where the polling locations for
each precinct are located and the precinct boundaries. Some candidates show this
information in their brochures. Many people are not certain where they should go to vote.
This information will help as well to show you are knowledgeable about your district. In
any case you need to know this when you go door-to-door.
Two color brochures, such as black and white with
red is a little more expensive that just black and white but when your headlines are in
the red people will look at them. Unless you have unlimited funds you may want to be
somewhat conservative on the multiple colors of the brochure. It will also give a better
image. You may want to leave some space on the outside for mailing addresses for the
brochures that you are going to send through the mail. You do not need to spend money on
envelopes that way plus when the folks receive them your picture and name are starring
them right in the face, even on the way to the waste basket.
The size of the brochure varies from candidate to
candidate. Some use the tabloid size to deliver to the door while some only use the palm
cards. However, the most popular size is an 8.5 by 11 with a
trifold. Look at some previous candidate’s
brochures and look at the mailing prices for various sizes. The 8.5 by 11 inch trifold is
good for many reasons, best mail price, best printing prices, best to hang on doors. A
super slick-glossy paper will also give a bad impression that you are trying to buy the
election.
Signs are re-enforcement of the NAME IDENTIFICATION,
a reminder to the folks that you are running for the office. The most prominent thing on
the sign should be your last name. One candidate has been known to only put his last name
and nothing else. He won. You can put your first name and the office you are running for
but these should be less prominent Yard signs are the most popular. The size depends on
the candidate but most are 22 by 14 inches. People who support you will probably put one
in their yard where they would not use anything larger. A good sign for arterials are the
36 by 24 inch sign with your name large enough so that when someone is driving by at
thirty miles per hour, will be able to read it easily. Some places like Phoenix uses four
by eight foot signs on the arterials and highways. Some city ordances will limit the size
of signs and locations. Check on your signs periodically during the campaign to be sure
they are looking good.
A Letter of Introduction and where you stand on the
issues is good sometimes especially in a primary election where you may be targeting those
folks who voted in the previous primary election. During a general election the cost is so
great and hardly anyone reads them, that it is not practical to mass mail a letter.
Media Advertisements
Newspaper advertisements are somewhat expensive but
are in almost every home. The price maybe right. You most certainly want to make a good
impression on the editorial staff when they interview you for their editorial page and
most papers will do that. Give them a candidate resume and a copy of a that picture you
took for your brochure.
You may also want to target groups, such as senior
citizens and put an advertisement in their paper. It may be worth the money. Make sure the
statement in the group paper addresses that group. Some races are won just because they
remembered the local nursing home.
For the type of public offices that are being
discussed here, television advertisements are expensive and spread over a wide area of the
state. Many candidates have the philosophy that some media advertisements go so far
outside the district that is an over kill and is a diminishing return on the campaign
dollar.
Radio is somewhat local and may be worth the money.
Have a good announcer’s voice on the commercial, so that your commercial sounds good
and gives you a good image. Your name should be spoken at least three times in a 15 second
commercial.
Name identification!
Personal Appearances
One of the most important campaign methods is the one-on-one
visit at the front door, known as going door-to-door. You may take someone with
you but it is the candidate that is the most effective at the door. Ware your
colors if possible and pass out your palm cards or brochures. Many candidates have
someone take the other side of the street while they work their side. The person on
the other side will mention that the candidate is on the other side of the street if they
would like to meet him or her.
Remember these three rules: -
- Introduce your self, smile, and shake their hand
- Ask for their vote and if there are any questions
- Do not go into the house. You will spend too
much time at that house and you must visit many more houses
Group meetings are important. You gather many
volunteers at these meetings such as the political party get- togethers. Pass out your
palm cards or brochures. Public forums are a blessings so that you can talk to possible
voters. Most gatherings will not allow you to talk more than five minutes. So have a three
minute speech outline in your pocket. Remember the rules:-
- Stand up so you can be seen (wear your colors
if possible)
- Speak up so you can be heard (have some
substance to say)
- Shut up so you can be appreciated (people will
not vote for a windbag)
There are many other local affairs that you should
not pass up. These are volunteers offering coffees and teas for their neighbors where they
can meet the candidate virtually one on one in a relaxed atmosphere. County fairs and the
state fair allow candidates to meet the people. Many small towns have parades during this
time of the year and you do not want to miss out on these.
Voters
You need to know who the voters are! Whether in the
primary or the general election you need to have a list of the people that are eligible to
vote. The county election office has a list of registered voters and sometime can sell you
a list in different fashions. In most areas of the country, you can get a list of the
registered voters in the precincts and in alphabetical order. In many counties you can
obtain voters listed by increasing house numbers and their streets, this they call a
walking list. In some areas of the country you can purchase voters lists on floppy disk.
You can arrange them in the sequence which you desire. Also, in each case you can obtain
the list by political party.
The local political party headquarters generally
have the same information as the county election office and may give you one listing
during a general election period. They may offer other help depending on how well off
financially the party office is. Commercial mailing firms have these list also and can be
of great help when you are mailing out your letters or brochures.
Targeting voters
Targeting voters has been a technique for a long
time. First you only campaign to those registered to vote in the election at hand such as
a primary. You do not campaign to the other party’s people. A good way is to campaign
to those who voted in the last primary. They are the ones who will probably vote in this
election. In the general election, you may want to campaign with a specific message to
certain groups in your district, such as explaining your position on immigrant high-tech
workers to engineers or your stance on education to teachers.
Targeting takes the specific message to the
group that wants to hear it most. However, remain
consistent with your message and keep your platform stable.
Many people vote by absentee ballot, not like
Chicago cementaries, but like folks on vacation and people that cannot go the polls due to
their physical problems. Mail to these people early or go by and see them selling yourself
for the public office for which you are running. They vote early. You might ask of the
handicaped if they would like a ride to the polls which you or your volunteers could
provide.
Telephoning the voters can sometimes be a plus but
can be a minus. Some candidates use the telephone banks to poll the electorate to get a
feed back as to where they stand so they know where to put their efforts. Unscrupulous
campaigners use computer telephone calls to spread negative information about their
opponents. You may need similar technique to counteract your opponent’s last minute
negative campaigning.
Final Days
Your original strategic plan called for fund raising
advertising, door-to-door, public appearance, literature drop, telephoning, and absentee
voters contact. Follow your plan. Many candidates get last minute negative campaigning
from their opponent and then they panic. Don’t Panic and blow your plan. Remember
PLAN YOUR WORK AND WORK YOUR PLAN
Victory or Consolation Party
Most candidates have or join with other candidates
to have a watch party. For some this turns out to be a Victory party while for others it
is a Consolation party. Think optimistically. There is no room for a pessimist in
politics. Call it a Victory party. Every volunteer should get an invitation to your
campaign victory party. If your campaign can afford it, a small gift of appreciation
should be presented to the volunteers at the party. Remember you could not have won
without them.
Conclusions
Now that you have won your election remember that
you are not the emperor. You are a servant of the people of the district. This will be a
job that you will love and sometimes hate all at the same time. If you did not win,
remember to take time to put your life and family back together. The world will not end
and you are much more knowledge for the experience. In either case remember the saying by
the cartoon character Mr. Wizard "Be what you is and not what you is not for those
that is are the happiest lot."
[ Table of
Contents ]
Last Updated: April 16, 1999
This section is adapted from a paper submitted for
presentation at the 1998 IEEE-USA Professional Development Conference.
Copyright © 1999, The
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
Permission to copy granted for non-commercial uses with appropriate attribution.
All other uses restricted. |