Running For Local Office For Dummies

Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Foolish Assumptions 2 Icons Used in This Book 3 Beyond the Book 3 Where to Go from Here 3 Part 1: Hail, Future Caesar 5 Chapter 1: Who Runs for Public Office 7 To Be a Politician 7 Avoiding public office altogether 8 Understanding who wins elections 9 Having thick skin 9 Resisting conformity 10 The Ideal Candidate 11 The Political Type 13 Understanding why people run for office 13 Becoming one of them 14 Accept the Results 15 Chapter 2: Local Office Choices 17 Political Hierarchy 17 Local Office Options 19 Exploring political divisions 19 Selecting a seat 20 Knowing your taxing districts 21 Choose an Office 22 Letting the office find you 22 Making a good fit 22 Partisan Effects 23 Running along party lines 23 Avoiding partisan politics 24 Chapter 3: Other Ways to Get Involved 25 Boost Your Public Résumé 25 Building your reputation 26 Becoming a community leader 26 The Activist and the Gadfly 27 Underestimating the gadfly 27 Becoming an activist 28 Joining a party 29 Stay Behind the Curtain 30 Knowing the power players 30 Becoming an influential person 30 Part 2: Before You Run 33 Chapter 4: Know Yourself 35 Some Vital Questions 35 Asking family and friends 36 Knowing your public exposure 36 Discovering your abilities 37 Reaching your goal 38 Explore Your Past 39 Remembering what you’ve done 39 Dealing with potential issues 41 Sell Yourself 42 Believing you can do it 42 Acting the part 43 Dressing the part 44 To Become a Public Person 45 Being available 45 Making new friends and contacts 46 Cutting short a boring conversation 47 Chapter 5: Research the Position 49 The Obligations of Holding Office 49 Knowing the basic requirements 50 Exploring other responsibilities 51 Fit the Job into Your Schedule 52 Study the Issues 52 The Players 53 Recognizing the cast and crew 54 Making the rounds 55 Identifying other people to know 55 Chapter 6: Consider Your Competition 57 Meet Your Opposition 57 Finding possible opponents 58 Building a list of potential candidates 58 Doing a SWOT analysis 59 The Street Fight 60 Having too many opponents 60 Categorizing your opposition 61 Dropping out 62 The Formidable Foe (an Incumbent) 62 Studying the incumbent’s record 63 Reviewing the organization’s unpopular decisions 63 Experiencing the perfect political storm 63 The Agony of Running Unopposed 64 Slates 64 Understanding a slate 65 Being slated against your will 65 Chapter 7: Know the Voters 67 Behold: Voter Data! 67 Running the local election 68 Gathering election data 68 Preparing your lists 70 Purging the lists 72 Obtaining ongoing voter data 73 The Fickle Electorate 73 Accepting the truth about voters 74 Dealing with unholy partisanship 75 Becoming the preferred type of elected official 75 Chapter 8: Ready to Run 77 When to Start? 77 Knowing the election type and style 78 Creating a campaign calendar 79 Starting early 80 The Announcement 81 Creating a press release 82 Staging an announcement event 83 Get Your Answers Ready 84 Memorizing important answers 84 Avoiding awkward answers 85 Election Registration 86 Understanding the qualifications for office 86 Filing the forms 87 Commit Your Time 88 Part 3: The Campaign 89 Chapter 9: Gather Your Assets 91 People to Help You 91 Finding required people 92 Using a campaign manager 93 Obtaining other important people 93 Recruiting volunteers 94 Your Message 95 Honing a message 95 Updating your bio 96 Avoiding meaningless mush 96 Making promises 97 Endorsements 97 Contact Lists 98 Chapter 10: Your Campaign Brand 101 Marvelous Marketing Mavens 102 You are the Product 102 Generating name recognition 102 Creating written material 103 Taking campaign photos 104 Magic Marketing Material 105 Building a brand 105 Creating the traditional handouts 106 Considering other printed material 108 Chapter 11: Money Stuff 111 Campaign Finances 112 Creating a spreadsheet 112 Receiving cash and checks 113 Taking in-kind donations 114 Getting online payments 114 Setting your funding goal 115 Money to Spend 116 Discovering how much things cost 116 Wasting money 118 The Secret to Raising Money 119 Doing background work 119 Asking for money 120 Working through a rejection 121 Strategies for Fundraising 122 Putting on a meet-and-greet 122 Visiting organizations 123 Funding yourself 124 Finance Reports 124 Knowing the law 125 Dealing with campaign finance problems 126 Chapter 12: Communications 127 Connect with Your Audience 127 Using social media 128 Sending direct mail 129 Making some yard signs 133 Writing letters to the editor 136 Going door-to-door 137 Attending forums and debates 138 Writing press releases 140 To Go Negative 142 Understanding “going negative?” 142 Accepting that some people don’t like you 143 Unleashing your wrath 144 Preparing your defense 145 Chapter 13: The Campaign 147 Your Campaign’s Number-One Employee 148 Taking on a full-time job 148 Clearing your calendar 148 Making those calls 149 Putting your volunteers to work 149 Not One, but Two Elections 150 Running in the primary and general elections 151 Addressing the absentees 151 Working the general election 152 Stuff Happens 154 Enduring a major screw-up 154 Dealing with a family emergency 155 Down to the Wire 155 Chapter 14: Election Day 157 Get Out the Vote 158 Rules About Election Day 158 Plan Your Victory Party 160 The Aftermath 161 Accepting a loss 161 Dealing with a win 162 Agonizing over close elections 162 Why Not Try Again? 163 Part 4: In Office 165 Chapter 15: Know the Law 167 Orientation 167 Rules 168 Knowing the code 169 Visiting your paid expert 170 Conflicts of Interest 171 Determining a conflict of interest 172 Dealing with a conflict 172 The Quasi-Judicial Role 174 Becoming judge and jury 174 Avoiding ex parte communications 175 Your Role 176 Serving the public 176 Accepting limitations on your infinite power 177 Making policy versus administrative roles 178 Cooperation 179 Chapter 16: Public Service 181 The Staff 181 Knowing who’s who 182 Assigning department liaisons 183 Interacting with staff 183 Avoiding surprises 184 Members of the Public 185 Serving your constituents 185 Following through 186 Public Communications 187 The Press 187 Developing a positive relationship with the media 188 Tossing a reporter a bone 188 Being caught off guard 189 Your Behavior in Public 190 Chapter 17: At a Public Meeting 191 Transparency 191 Keeping the public’s business public 192 Creating a paper trail 193 Excluding items from the public 194 Disclosing conflicts and recusing yourself 195 The Public Meeting 195 Setting the agenda 196 Conducting yourself during a meeting 198 Attending workshops 199 Concerned Citizens Want to Be Heard 200 Holding public comment 201 Dealing with upset people 201 Your Public Record 203 Chapter 18: Decisions: Who to Tick Off? 205 The Same Ol’ Same Ol’ 205 Homework for Every Decision 206 That “Difficult Decision” 207 The Vote 208 Chapter 19: Your Reelection 211 The Glory of Incumbency 211 Taking advantage of your advantage 212 Understanding why voters keep incumbents 212 Reapplying for the same job 213 Your Reelection Strategy 213 Touting your public record 214 Being an active candidate 214 Term Limits 215 Groom a Replacement 216 Part 5: The Part of Tens 219 Chapter 20: Ten Common Campaign Mistakes 221 Not Raising Money 222 Spending Money Early 222 Misspending Money 223 Not Showing Up 223 Not Tracking Finances 223 Mistreating Staff and Supporters 224 Arguing with Idiots Online 224 Not Using Volunteers 225 Getting Facts Wrong 226 Going Negative 226 Chapter 21: Ten Ups and Downs 229 Up and Down: Polls 229 Up: Money Comes In 230 Down: Press Coverage 230 Up: Unexpected Support 231 Down: Your Opponent is Doing Well 232 Up: You See an Effect 232 Down: Stress 233 Up: Positive Feedback 233 Down: No-Shows 234 Up: You Did It 234 Chapter 22: Ten Frustrations of an Elected Official 235 Staff Offers Yes–No “Decisions” 236 Electeds Kowtow to Staff 236 Electeds Keep Congratulating Staff 237 The Whole “Sir” Thing 238 Out of the Loop 238 Someone Punts 239 When Peers are Obviously Unprepared 240 People Who Suck the Air Out of the Room 240 Subcommittee Overload 241 Experts to Ignore 243 Index 245