Didn’t someone here run for local office?

[Bernadine]

I’ve signed on to be a campaign manager for one of our county commissioner candidates. I’m interested in any tidbits that may be helpful. He’s a Dem, obviously, running in a leans red district.

[minzy]

Not me, but I thought this book was really great:
us.macmillan.com/books/9781250247636/somebodysgottadoit

[redheadbaker]

I ran for school board (didn't win), but didn't have anyone helping me.

[jlt19]

Someone’s DH did. Like Stephen Stephens or something, lol

[Deleted]

I ran for a village trustee position. And will never do that again lol. I had a little help, but not official people working for me. I'm happy to answer any questions or anything.

[redheadbaker]

Mar 16, 2022 17:16:40 GMT -5 jlt19 said:

Someone’s DH did. Like Stephen Stephens or something, lol

Senator de Senator! 

[InBetweenDays]

I'm pretty sure thejen626 ran for some sort of local office.

[outnumbered]

If I remember correctly penguingrrl ran for a local position in NJ.

I was a treasurer for a friend running for school committee. If you are taking donations it is important to file all the correct paperwork with the state and keep track of donations, passive donations, and expenses.

On a more practical note it is all about name recognition and reaching likely Dem voters. Don't waste your time on trying to reach republicans. Our campaign went to the town clerk and asked for the voting records of the registered dems and independents (not who they voted for, but how many elections they voted in). We filtered it down to people who would most likely vote in that election. We sent them postcards, knocked on doors, and used FB to reach them.

[lo]

My husband is on our village board (deputy mayor!) and he ran for our town board (Dem) and lost a couple years ago. I didn’t think shit would get crazy for such a small and local election, but the republicans really were all about go big or go home.

[penguingrrl]

I ran for Borough Council in 2018. My town is a small one and I was told that 1,200 votes I’d likely win, 1,300 would be good for ego. I got 1,400 but didn’t win because it was a super contentious year with NJs gubernatorial election.

I did well because of name recognition and connections honestly. My running mate and I both grew up in our town, which matters a lot where we live, and my husband did as well. I also did a lot of door to door campaigning, which is possible/easy in a town that small.

I found the most successful thing for me was a neighbor who hosted a “meet the candidate” night with a ton of local moms who were Republican. Getting to know me and asking me questions worked out and I won several of their votes. I think that absent the gubernatorial election I likely could have won because I won over the moms who run our K-8 PTO, and that’s how tiny our town is.

IMO small gatherings are key, at least at this level and size town. Knocking doors doesn’t give people time to ask substantial questions, a private in-home event with wine and apps does.

[basilosaurus]

Mar 16, 2022 17:16:40 GMT -5 jlt19 said:

Someone’s DH did. Like Stephen Stephens or something, lol

Senator diSenator! That will never not be funny to me.

[BlondeSpiders]

Check out Postcards to Voters. Its's a grassroots organization that already has voting lists in all districts. It's free to campaigns, and the postcard writers pay for their own materials and stamps. My mom and I have written postcards for at least a dozen different campaigns and we really enjoy it!

Postcards to Voters are friendly, handwritten reminders from volunteers to targeted voters giving Democrats a winning edge in close, key races coast to coast.

postcardstovoters.org/campaigns/

[waverly]

I know several people who have run for library board and park district board and won. Usually they are not super contentious.

Our local library board was contentious one year, and the candidates that I knew did not win that year because I don’t think the older voters liked their platform. Plus the board fired the problematic director anyway so the result would have been the same with either group. All trustees probably would have eventually fired her.

[quesyrah]

Mar 17, 2022 17:09:18 GMT -5 BlondeSpiders said:

Check out Postcards to Voters. Its's a grassroots organization that already has voting lists in all districts. It's free to campaigns, and the postcard writers pay for their own materials and stamps. My mom and I have written postcards for at least a dozen different campaigns and we really enjoy it!

Postcards to Voters are friendly, handwritten reminders from volunteers to targeted voters giving Democrats a winning edge in close, key races coast to coast.

postcardstovoters.org/campaigns/

I have participated in this and would be happy to help out anyone who is in need of volunteers.

[momof2ms]

Don’t skimp on the communication/social media team, especially as it concerns strategy. Making a handful of people post every day about useless stuff is going to burn them out by the time you need things to really ramp up and when every post is really important. Using a local expert or consulting firm that has proven track results for how to win over minds in your community can be worth it.

Mar 16, 2022 16:08:37 GMT -5 Bernadine said:

I’ve signed on to be a campaign manager for one of our county commissioner candidates. I’m interested in any tidbits that may be helpful. He’s a Dem, obviously, running in a leans red district.

[Bernadine]

Mar 18, 2022 10:08:50 GMT -5 momof2ms said:

Don’t skimp on the communication/social media team, especially as it concerns strategy. Making a handful of people post every day about useless stuff is going to burn them out by the time you need things to really ramp up and when every post is really important. Using a local expert or consulting firm that has proven track results for how to win over minds in your community can be worth it.



So, we likely can't afford a consulting firm, but I do have someone in mind who may be able to at least give us some pointers.  Do you have any good sources for social media marketing?  It's definitely something I'd like to look into.

Mar 16, 2022 16:08:37 GMT -5 Bernadine said:

I’ve signed on to be a campaign manager for one of our county commissioner candidates. I’m interested in any tidbits that may be helpful. He’s a Dem, obviously, running in a leans red district.

[Bernadine]

Mar 16, 2022 19:35:21 GMT -5 outnumbered said:

If I remember correctly penguingrrl ran for a local position in NJ.

I was a treasurer for a friend running for school committee. If you are taking donations it is important to file all the correct paperwork with the state and keep track of donations, passive donations, and expenses.

On a more practical note it is all about name recognition and reaching likely Dem voters. Don't waste your time on trying to reach republicans. Our campaign went to the town clerk and asked for the voting records of the registered dems and independents (not who they voted for, but how many elections they voted in). We filtered it down to people who would most likely vote in that election. We sent them postcards, knocked on doors, and used FB to reach them.

Can you tell me a little more about how you used FB?

I really appreciate all of the responses.  We live in a more rural area, where some door to door canvassing is possible, but it's not the way we'll reach most voters, I don't think.

[momof2ms]

Mar 21, 2022 8:53:23 GMT -5 Bernadine said:

So, we likely can't afford a consulting firm, but I do have someone in mind who may be able to at least give us some pointers.  Do you have any good sources for social media marketing?  It's definitely something I'd like to look into.

I only know people who do it badly 😂 I would suggest to look at other candidates in your party and see if there isn’t some sort of digging you can do for how they are making up their teams, especially ones who have done this repeatedly with repeated success. Like, it could just be looking at their existing social media pages an understanding what they are doing at this point And following them. Also look at their existing websites and see if there isn’t a mention of who built it and if they do that professionally for other candidates. I haven’t done it since 2018, but Facebook does have a way to promote your political candidate and use Facebook ads but in a totally legit way. You also get really good analytics from that too if I recall.

[outnumbered]

Mar 21, 2022 8:54:31 GMT -5 Bernadine said:

Mar 16, 2022 19:35:21 GMT -5 outnumbered said:

If I remember correctly penguingrrl ran for a local position in NJ.

I was a treasurer for a friend running for school committee. If you are taking donations it is important to file all the correct paperwork with the state and keep track of donations, passive donations, and expenses.

On a more practical note it is all about name recognition and reaching likely Dem voters. Don't waste your time on trying to reach republicans. Our campaign went to the town clerk and asked for the voting records of the registered dems and independents (not who they voted for, but how many elections they voted in). We filtered it down to people who would most likely vote in that election. We sent them postcards, knocked on doors, and used FB to reach them.

Can you tell me a little more about how you used FB?

I really appreciate all of the responses.  We live in a more rural area, where some door to door canvassing is possible, but it's not the way we'll reach most voters, I don't think.

Sorry I missed this so long ago.  We set up a FB page and invited friends to like the page.  Those friends then invited more people.  The candidate posted on the local town page inviting people to local meet and greets and offered to answer questions on local issues.  On FB we could see how many people were reached with each post.