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Jackson Taus posted:Yeah, in the campaign world you're either moving upwards or you're moving downwards. If you're taking on the same responsibility for multiple cycles you may be in trouble. Obviously "responsibility" and "job title" don't always line up - going from state legislator's finance director to being on a Senator's finance staff is hardly a downgrade. I don't entirely agree depending on where you are in your career but yah, you should always look for upward movement. I would say if you moved as a FO in a congressional to a senate run, take it.
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Jul 23, 2015 02:48
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Mooseontheloose posted:I don't entirely agree depending on where you are in your career but yah, you should always look for upward movement. I would say if you moved as a FO in a congressional to a senate run, take it. Yeah, that's definitely fair. I meant generally moving upwards in responsibility or race size. For instance I know someone who moved from local race CM to state senate Finance Director, and that was a good move. Just don't wind up in a situation where you're in the same position for too many consecutive cycles. A good way to find opportunities for upward movement is to figure out who is running next cycle and make friends with them. A lot of the FOs on the Congressional last year got their current jobs by doing that.
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Jul 26, 2015 03:09
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One of the more frustrating things to me about local politics is that it's sometimes a challenge to distinguish the vainglorious incompetents from the stealthy operators from the humble "nose-to-the-grindstone" grassroots types. Like not that I can't tell them apart when I'm working closely with them, just that that doesn't scale to my level (across a Congressional District). For instance, it's really clear if I'm running a canvass who the braggarts are and who the hard workers are, but usually staffers run canvasses and at best VAN shows "shift completed" or "flake", not who did how much work. For example, I frequently see slacktivists post half a dozen "I'm going canvassing" pictures on FB and assume they're useful only to discover that they knocked about 20 doors while the quiet guy I usually ignore did two packets. This isn't just a field problem - I see it on the leadership side too, where people talk a great game about how they're doing X, Y, and Z but until you show up at their event it's not always easy to tell how full of poo poo they are. And of course I'd try the "ask other people", but other people seem to have the same problem: I've had multiple people tell me one guy is the biggest slacktivist alive only to watch him recruit a few people to my canvass and knock a packet and half himself. And of course it's even harder on the political side where this stuff is unseen by design - exactly whose fault is it that we have a weak candidate slate? If I ask Person A, it's Person B's fault. If I ask Person B, they'll say it's because Persons A and C are undermining and backstabbing them, or they'll say "well I put a lot of effort into recruiting for races X and Y, only to have my recruits stepped on by the Legislative Caucus". Or whose fault is it that a moderate-Dem decided to run as an independent? Joe'll say "Mary basically talked him into it by mishandling him" and Mary'll say "Joe never liked our candidate in the first place, he probably did it". Like I realize that that's the game and that most of these people are self-interested and this was never going to be easy, but are there red flags or best practices or something for distinguishing the helpful from the vainglorious and the loud idiots from the clever? Obviously "talk to staffers" works for some of it, but that doesn't really scale when I've got a few dozen campaigns in my area and there's stuff staffers can't really say (or won't really say until (a) they really trust you and (b) it's way after the fact).
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Jul 30, 2015 17:05
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Jackson Taus posted:One of the more frustrating things to me about local politics is that it's sometimes a challenge to distinguish the vainglorious incompetents from the stealthy operators from the humble "nose-to-the-grindstone" grassroots types. Like not that I can't tell them apart when I'm working closely with them, just that that doesn't scale to my level (across a Congressional District). For instance, it's really clear if I'm running a canvass who the braggarts are and who the hard workers are, but usually staffers run canvasses and at best VAN shows "shift completed" or "flake", not who did how much work. For example, I frequently see slacktivists post half a dozen "I'm going canvassing" pictures on FB and assume they're useful only to discover that they knocked about 20 doors while the quiet guy I usually ignore did two packets. I guess this is mostly obvious but be it your own staff, other staffers, volunteers, activists etc one of the most important things to do on any campaign of any scale is to establish who is competent and able to get things done as early as possible. Try to create a situation where people can succeed or fail where the stakes aren't too high so that when the stakes are high you know who to rely on. So when Bob says he "knows everyone" and can get you "tons of people" its like ok cool setup some non crucial and low effort event or canvass for him to do it, if he does you know he can do it for bigger stuff later on. Yeah that means you're going to have to waste some time but the only other thing you can do is rely on what other people say or try to suss people out by talking to them. Most people can only bullshit so much and if you dig a bit it'll be obvious.
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Jul 30, 2015 19:36
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Since we don't (I think) have anyone else working on the tech/digital side of politics, I can also answer your nerd questions about being a nerd in politics. I do software engineering/big data work for a large committee in DC. Also willing to just rant about how political journalists cover technology in politics (spoiler: very poorly). This field will always suck you back in, no matter how hard you try to escape. be awarrrrreeeee Monkey Fury fucked around with this message at 23:04 on Aug 9, 2015 |
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Aug 9, 2015 23:01
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G-Hawk posted:I guess this is mostly obvious but be it your own staff, other staffers, volunteers, activists etc one of the most important things to do on any campaign of any scale is to establish who is competent and able to get things done as early as possible. Try to create a situation where people can succeed or fail where the stakes aren't too high so that when the stakes are high you know who to rely on. So when Bob says he "knows everyone" and can get you "tons of people" its like ok cool setup some non crucial and low effort event or canvass for him to do it, if he does you know he can do it for bigger stuff later on. Yeah that means you're going to have to waste some time but the only other thing you can do is rely on what other people say or try to suss people out by talking to them. Most people can only bullshit so much and if you dig a bit it'll be obvious. More importantly, use your position to get your hands dirt. Show up to a canvass unannounced and see what's really going on and observe how the office is running. Go out with a walk packet with a canvass pair. Heck, tell people you are showing up and see how they build the event. Then see if there is anything that you can do/fix.
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Aug 9, 2015 23:24
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I know this was vaguely touched upon in the last thread, but I want to get into running as a candidate for state politics. I'm an Iowan (currently in Chicago) who watched Joni Ernst get elected in November and that has set me on my current course. I'm not a college grad (I have a diploma in Culinary Arts from a local CC, and did one semester as a theatre student before rightfully getting the hell out), and I've spent the last few years helping start up a theatre company in Chicago, as well as working as a bartender in the city. Basically, how can I move the current course I'm on to get to a point where I can run for office (without going back to school)? My plan is to move back to Iowa sometime next summer and get to volunteering with a campaign, and probably getting in contact with some of the more local candidates to try and get a job. Right call? Am I crazy for even thinking about this? I mean, I figure if I start with running for state senate or legislature, I can work my way up.
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Aug 13, 2015 03:16
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Yoshifan823 posted:I know this was vaguely touched upon in the last thread, but I want to get into running as a candidate for state politics. I'm an Iowan (currently in Chicago) who watched Joni Ernst get elected in November and that has set me on my current course. I'm not a college grad (I have a diploma in Culinary Arts from a local CC, and did one semester as a theatre student before rightfully getting the hell out), and I've spent the last few years helping start up a theatre company in Chicago, as well as working as a bartender in the city. There are no easy answers. The political marketplace is relatively efficient in the sense that if somebody discovered an easy fool-proof way to become state senator, everyone would try it out and you'd be back to square one. Also, state legislature isn't really the bottom of the totem pole - in my state there are something like 1800 local elected officials (School Board, County Supervisor, Town Council, Sheriff) and 140 state legislators. Then there are 3 state-wide elected officials, 2 Senators, and about a dozen Congressmen. Basically there's kind of a steep pyramid, because at each higher level there are 1/10 the number of offices as the level below. IDK what it's like in Iowa but it's probably similar numbers. The length of planning is also long-term too - some of the more successful local/state politicians I know think 10 years ahead, and one turn of bad luck can cost years. I'm not saying don't do it, I'm just saying if you're thinking you're going to move to Iowa in 2016, get a job on HFA, get elected to state legislature in 2018, move up to Congress in 2020 and be sitting in the Oval by 2032 you may want to re-evaluate. Pick carefully the district you move into. If you move into a district that's deep red, the race will basically be you hoping your opponent gets caught with a cheerleader or something, and in a deep blue district (a) the incumbents tend to stick around and (b) when the seat opens up the primary is heavily contested. One of our state senators in a blueish seat got elected to higher office a few years ago and the primary to replace him had 3 candidates - a Town Councillor, a former prosecutor, and a prior Supervisor candidate, and thousands of dollars was spent on just a two-week-long special election primary (and they then had to run a somewhat competitive race afterwards). Ideally you want a district that's purple with an opposite-party incumbent. This advice applies for state or local office, but it's more critical for state office, and if you want to advance you've got to be in competitive districts all the way up - if you win a purple State Senate seat in a red Congressional district, that's probably the extent of your climb until there's a big shakeup of some kind. Purple lower-level seat in a blue higher-level seat works fine as well, it just takes longer. Getting a job working on a campaign is not really a prerequisite for running for office. Sure, you should be politically active before hand, but you'll be in a better spot if you volunteer on evenings and weekends while working a regular job. Most entry-level campaign jobs are Field Organizers (cold-call potential volunteers to convince them to cold-call voters, knock on doors to give a 30 second salespitch of your candidate), and that doesn't really get you connections that you can't get as a savvy volunteer leader. It's not like FOs are routinely going to dinner with PAC Directors or rich donors, they're eating pizza with the volunteers and volunteer leaders. I do know one guy who made the leap from campaign side to candidacy, but he was a campaign manager a decade ago and is running for County Supervisor (we've also got a mayor and a few young professionals in those races). It's not a question of whether staff experience would be useful to a candidate, it's a question of opportunity cost - if you could get a higher paying job with lower stress and networking abilities, that's a better way to spend those few years. The most important thing is connections. It feels like there's a perception that a candidate stands up, gives some rousing announcement speech, and volunteers flood to him in throngs while George Soros dumps a million dollars on his head. In reality, campaigns have to be built - your first volunteer is gonna be your roommate and your first donor is gonna be your mom. There are 99 other races for State House, and it takes strong initial performance for the state party and PACs to take you seriously. A friend who ran for State House a few years back was told he had to raise $20k-$50k from friends and family just to get in the room to pitch why he should be a targeted race. Since you didn't go to college ("call through your whole fraternity" comes right after "call everyone in the photo album") and I'm guessing your theatre actors aren't exactly rolling in it, this is probably going to be the hardest part for you. Maybe try making friends with outgoing elected officials and getting your hands on their fundraising lists or something? Rob a bank? This is why you see so many lawyers in political office - they've got swarms of former coworker and law school buddies they can hit up for a few hundred or a few thousand each and they're loving shameless about it. This is the sort of thing where starting small helps you - it doesn't cost nearly as much to run for Town Council or Supervisor (4 or 5 figures instead of 6 figure state legislative races) and you can build your network while in office. PS: The above assumes you're a Dem. Reverse the colors, etc., if you're a Republican. PPS: Sorry if the above is a little condescending, my usual experience with this question isn't Goons trying to learn, it's dealing with Joe Schmoe who woke up one day and decided to run for Congress because it can't be that hard.
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Aug 13, 2015 07:32
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Yeah, I'd say there are a couple different things to do before running that are important, this is mostly echoing the post above: 1. Establish viable funding. This is the most important. I promise you won't win without money. Look at the race(s) you're considering, check out comparable and previous races. How much did the candidates raise? If it is 100k, you should probably expect to need similar. You don't need that all on day one, but you should probably be able to raise a good amount of that quickly from self funding, friends, family. If you can't, figure out how to build a network you can raise money off of. Be prepared to beg everyone you even slightly know. Be prepared to beg people you don't know. Don't get sucked into thinking you're gonna grassroots your way to victory, obviously volunteers and hard work and door knocking matters, but you will not win without money. 2. Figure out what you want to run for. What seat and what location? Why? Is it winnable? Are you walking into a district thats 20 points partisan? Or against a 20 year incumbent? Do your research. Figure out why you're running. You don't need a full on message on day 1, but if you cant answer the question why are you running for x, you probably shouldn't be. Figure out what issues are relevant to the race and where you stand on them. Don't get sucked into knowing every policy point ever, but don't run for office because its a thing to do. 3. Build political relationships. This is somewhat connected to 1, but build relationships with local electeds, committee people, donors, volunteers, etc. This can be through volunteering, through going to fundraisers, through committee stuff, etc. You want to have your partys backing and have some strong supporters who can point you in the right direction and open some doors. 4. Talk to voters - this is where volunteering (or I suppose, field organizing) beforehand could be a good idea. Spend a lot of time talking to voters for another campaign, it gives you a realistic idea of what voters know and care about. Spoiler: they don't know much and probably don't care much either and want to go back to watching TV. This is an important lesson for first time candidates in that when you're running for office you need to be realistic about how much people will pay attention, especially on the local level. And yeah, don't rush it. It may be better to not run for 5 years and have the ability to win then than to run in 2 years and get run off the field because you weren't ready. Think long term.
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Aug 13, 2015 18:16
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G-Hawk posted:1. Establish viable funding. This is the most important. I promise you won't win without money. Look at the race(s) you're considering, check out comparable and previous races. How much did the candidates raise? If it is 100k, you should probably expect to need similar. You don't need that all on day one, but you should probably be able to raise a good amount of that quickly from self funding, friends, family. If you can't, figure out how to build a network you can raise money off of. Be prepared to beg everyone you even slightly know. Be prepared to beg people you don't know. Don't get sucked into thinking you're gonna grassroots your way to victory, obviously volunteers and hard work and door knocking matters, but you will not win without money. In addition to paying for stuff, money is also how you get taken seriously. It's a sad state of affairs, but the best way to get other candidates or whoever to take you seriously is to raise a lot of money. If you show up to a race with a large warchest or you have a strong first quarter, you're going to frighten away opponents. Last Congressional primary, we had someone who decided on the 27th they were going to run, then on the 28th the frontrunner in the race announced she'd raised $200K, and the other guy never filed. G-Hawk posted:3. Build political relationships. This is somewhat connected to 1, but build relationships with local electeds, committee people, donors, volunteers, etc. This can be through volunteering, through going to fundraisers, through committee stuff, etc. You want to have your partys backing and have some strong supporters who can point you in the right direction and open some doors. Absolutely. The frontrunner in the race I mentioned above announced his candidacy, and within 3 weeks had hundreds of people at her impromptu fundraiser, an endorsement list a mile long, and six figures in the bank. By contrast, a smart but politically inactive lawyer who had gotten into the race months earlier had only put together $75K or so. He wound up dropping out ahead of the primary when he realized that most of the elected officials in the district were going around signing up convention delegates for the frontrunner. Had the frontrunner not made as many friends in her years as a County Supervisor, she wouldn't have been so far ahead and might have had to actually had to spend money in the primary to get people to show up to caucuses. G-Hawk posted:And yeah, don't rush it. It may be better to not run for 5 years and have the ability to win then than to run in 2 years and get run off the field because you weren't ready. Think long term. There may or may not be second acts in American Politics (Nixon, Spitzer, Sanford, etc), but it's definitely crucial to make a good first impression. When it comes to local parties and donors and elected officials, these guys stick around a while. Most of my town council has been around in some capacity the last dozen years or so, and one of our state Senators has been around that long too. The lady who throws the best mid-dollar ($75-$150/person minimum) fundraisers has been doing it for decades. Some of the people on my Congressional District committee were first elected to that role when I was in elementary school. More to the point, sometimes they move up the ranks - that phonebank captain from 2012 is now a respected staffer for a local elected official, and that School Board candidate who lost 5 years ago is probably going to be mayor next year. A lot of the people who are CMs or Directors on state legislative races were FOs a few years back. Tangentially, I think Hollywood depictions like The West Wing and especially House of Cards have totally given people the wrong impression of working in politics. There's this sense that you're supposed to conspire to stab people in the back in between blearily walking into meetings that you barely comprehend and then cap the day off by giving an inspiring yet vague speech that somehow solves all your problems. This seems to lead people to think that as a volunteer you should try to get the Josh Lyman gig or as a political activist you should try to imitate Frank Underwood. Because it's Hollywood and it makes for good story-telling, this elides two things. First, it skips the long road to those sorts of positions - Frank Underwood is 55 and spent 8 years as State Senator and then another 14 years in Congress before working his way into the leadership and a decade in leadership before moving up again, and Josh Lyman at 35 had probably spent 3 years after college as an FO or FD and then managed various local races before running a House or Representatives/Senate/Governor's race and then finally getting the job working on Hoynes' campaign. For all that they look down on or ignore the lower-level politicians, they used to be those people. Second, it ignores the fact that the reason people like Frank and Josh get ahead is usually because they did a lot of favors. In TV it revolves around the power plays and the blackmail and the threats, but 95% of the time, the way that politicians get what they want is by being open-handed. Whether it's pork-barrel spending or throwing a fundraiser or putting in a good word for some guy's amendment, logrolling is the bread and butter of politics. On a local scale, this leads to political activists and party people who think that the way to get what they want is to be aggressive and vindictive towards everyone, where instead they should be trying to be helpful and accommodating so that they can build up goodwill to spend getting what they want. It also leads to volunteers and candidates who think that the most important thing to do is talk about policy in a way that's basically a rehash of what was on Maddow last week, or give a generic policy speech with an uplifting tone and a few clever bits and suddenly the whole politics problem is solved.
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Aug 13, 2015 20:46
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Jackson Taus posted:
That being said, if you want to run locally, you have to get to know the local party officials and activists. You may not want them to RUN your campaign but they know where the bodies are and some important issues so you have to listen to them even if they are a pain in the rear end sometimes. That doesn't me you have to be beholden to them but you do have to listen and be open to them. It's a balancing act but activists can get tunnel vision, get territorial, or pick the wrong issues to focus on but they are still voters. Make sure you know what's important about what you are running for. If you are running for school committee, talking about fixing potholes makes you seem out of touch. If you are running for State rep, talking about saving Social Security makes you seem like you don't know what you are talking about. However, knowing that East Greenwich's School System hasn't bought new computers since 2004 makes you seem knowledgeable and connected. Essentially, what everyone else has said.
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Aug 14, 2015 01:59
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Mooseontheloose posted:That being said, if you want to run locally, you have to get to know the local party officials and activists. You may not want them to RUN your campaign but they know where the bodies are and some important issues so you have to listen to them even if they are a pain in the rear end sometimes. That doesn't me you have to be beholden to them but you do have to listen and be open to them. It's a balancing act but activists can get tunnel vision, get territorial, or pick the wrong issues to focus on but they are still voters. Yeah, I'm not saying ignore them by any means, I'm just saying it sucks that much of the time they're more interested in being King poo poo of their little town or county than winning elections or working with people. Mooseontheloose posted:Make sure you know what's important about what you are running for. If you are running for school committee, talking about fixing potholes makes you seem out of touch. If you are running for State rep, talking about saving Social Security makes you seem like you don't know what you are talking about. However, knowing that East Greenwich's School System hasn't bought new computers since 2004 makes you seem knowledgeable and connected. THIS. Like seriously, you're running for Board of Supervisors, SHUT THE gently caress UP about how much you hate Citizen's United, you can't do gently caress-all about it and it's not helping you win over moderate voters in any real way.
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Aug 14, 2015 14:31
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I'm helping with my first fundraiser, we're doing a Democratic Debate watching party. Are there some tried and true approaches to fundraising events that I should stick with until I'm good at this kind of thing? I was thinking it had been for the Republican debates it'd be fun to do a fundraiser that's kind of a combination of a drinking game with a swear-jar. You'd pledge dimes, quarters, dollars etc. And every time a candidate references Reagan, you put some money in the jar etc. For a Democratic Debate, I don't think that'd be as fun.
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Aug 18, 2015 19:11
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Dr. Arbitrary posted:I'm helping with my first fundraiser, we're doing a Democratic Debate watching party. Get as much of the food for free as possible. Do it potluck-style or have the host provide it, or whatever, just try to avoid laying out campaign funds for anything you can get someone else to buy for you. Invite a lot of people, especially past donors. Have a guest of honor that's another politician, even if it's like a local mayor or town council member or something. Try to get other groups or officeholders to pimp your event, or try to get donor lists from them. Have multiple donation levels - Guest is $25, Friend is $50, Champion is $100, Co-Host is $200, Host is $500, etc. This allows you to set a low barrier to entry (not turning away folks with only $25) while also incentivizing folks to give more. You'll want to thank your Co-Hosts/Hosts publicly at the event (and maybe Champion-tier if there's not a lot of Co-Host/Host supporters). You might do the same thing with people who bring/refer people to the fundraiser. In a big fundraiser, a lot of your money will come from bundlers or big donors, and if someone who was going to give the minimum instead gives $50 because of the donation levels, that's as good as recruiting someone and takes way less effort. Those numbers may have too wide a spread or not be in your price range, IDK. Track all of your donors, so you can (a) invite them to all subsequent events and (b) send them fundraising mailers/emails later. For the same reason, you'll want to send them a "thanks for coming" letter (with a link to your ActBlue or something). You'll want to have name tags. Print them in advance for the people who RSVP'd, and have a few blanks with Sharpies for everyone else. Bring extra donation forms/envelopes too. Dr. Arbitrary posted:I was thinking it had been for the Republican debates it'd be fun to do a fundraiser that's kind of a combination of a drinking game with a swear-jar. You'd pledge dimes, quarters, dollars etc. And every time a candidate references Reagan, you put some money in the jar etc. Keep in mind that you have to be aware of exactly how much each person donated. You can't have a big jar of change from an unknown donor on your FEC report (or at least it looks very sketchy) even if it's only $20 or so. There's no reason you can't do a watch party for a Republican debate, especially a mocking watch party. Just try to leave most of the more incendiary comments to guests you can disavow don't be on record saying too terrible of stuff.
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Aug 18, 2015 20:15
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Jackson Taus posted:Keep in mind that you have to be aware of exactly how much each person donated. You can't have a big jar of change from an unknown donor on your FEC report (or at least it looks very sketchy) even if it's only $20 or so. I don't do federal campaigns so I can't speak to FEC rules but in my state, legislative/state level races are allowed to report contributions of up to $100 in cash from anonymous folks for this kind of situation. You have a booth at the fair with a jar asking for donations, a few people put in $5 each and you can report $45 (or whatever up to $100) worth of anonymous "small dollar contributions." So if people want to do this they might be able to, just check the rules with the appropriate regulator.
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Aug 18, 2015 20:30
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gohuskies posted:I don't do federal campaigns so I can't speak to FEC rules but in my state, legislative/state level races are allowed to report contributions of up to $100 in cash from anonymous folks for this kind of situation. You have a booth at the fair with a jar asking for donations, a few people put in $5 each and you can report $45 (or whatever up to $100) worth of anonymous "small dollar contributions." So if people want to do this they might be able to, just check the rules with the appropriate regulator. Yeah, as with everything finance-based, definitely check the specific regulations that apply to your particular campaign.
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Aug 18, 2015 20:39
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I was thinking Mason jars with nametags for that exact reason.
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Aug 18, 2015 20:45
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Dr. Arbitrary posted:I'm helping with my first fundraiser, we're doing a Democratic Debate watching party. I like gimmicking up for people to get interested but as other as said, have a way to track who contributes what. Checks are the safest way to do so. nothing beats tradition though, make sure to the candidate does a round of calls to people who are sponsoring the event or who he wants to come. MAke sure there is a direct ask (I need you to bring 5 people who will contribute $50 vs. if you could bring 5 people who might be able to contribute $50) and then you should do a round of follow up calls a few days before the event. Make sure AFTER the event to chase down those who RSVPed yes but who didn't show up and contribute. Finally, don't be afraid.
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Aug 18, 2015 23:30
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Special primary election in northeast Queens Thursday! Why Thursday? I'm not sure! Supposedly it's because of Rosh Hashanah but that starts on Sunday. Whatever, I'm not the kind of Jew who celebrates it. I'd help out with it but I'm already busy doing not-campaign things for my job, and even if I wanted to, there isn't a single subway stop in that neighborhood. Even though white people have always represented this particular part of Queens on the city level and in both houses of the state legislature, it's incredibly diverse. White people make up over 30%, Hispanics and black people make up around 15% each, and Asians (both South and East) make up another 30%+. So naturally two of the major candidates are white, including the establishment Democrat-backed Barry Grodenchik (a former Assemblyman) and the labor- and Daily News-backed Rebecca Lynch (who worked for the city's Community Affairs department). The only non-white candidate who has a chance is Ali Najmi, an attorney and civic activist who's aiming to be the first South Asian elected official in city government. He has the NY Times' blessing. The state senator who represents the district, true to his bizarre nature, endorsed a nobody businessman who's also Sikh, but he's got no chance. It'll be an interesting fight. There's a not insignificant Republican presence in the district, but the GOP doesn't win City Council elections outside of Staten Island (in fact, there's a second vacant seat in the southern district of that borough, but gently caress Staten Island).
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Sep 9, 2015 05:00
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I'm going to be the media guy for a candidate, it'll be my first campaign. I was thinking of using Nationbuilder, it seems like an easy option. I've been running a wordpress for a local committee as pretty much a hobby project but if someone is paying me I think I should use something professional. What are some of the common options for website hosting and fundraising?
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Sep 23, 2015 05:03
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Dr. Arbitrary posted:I'm going to be the media guy for a candidate, it'll be my first campaign. I think we used wordpress with Joomla. Not sure where we bought the hosting from.
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Sep 24, 2015 01:45
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Just checking in with folks as city elections are coming up.
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Oct 18, 2015 01:36
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I hate local candidates. Why can't they be smart? Like why do I have to pull teeth to get their talking points included in Coordinated canvassers' packets? Note that it's not the Coordinated FOs who I need to bug about this, it's the drat candidates, the folks who should have been pressing for this themselves from Day 1. Which they'd know if they went to the candidate training. And of course after the election they're gonna blame the Coordinated for not helping enough, despite passing up opportunities and not really trying aggressively to work with them. We've got one or two campaigns with GREAT relationships with the Coordinated and the rest don't. I don't get how they can not look at the campaigns with great coordination and try to get that.
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Oct 18, 2015 02:17
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Jackson Taus posted:I hate local candidates. Why can't they be smart? Like why do I have to pull teeth to get their talking points included in Coordinated canvassers' packets? Note that it's not the Coordinated FOs who I need to bug about this, it's the drat candidates, the folks who should have been pressing for this themselves from Day 1. Which they'd know if they went to the candidate training. And of course after the election they're gonna blame the Coordinated for not helping enough, despite passing up opportunities and not really trying aggressively to work with them. We've got one or two campaigns with GREAT relationships with the Coordinated and the rest don't. I don't get how they can not look at the campaigns with great coordination and try to get that. Because they know better than you about their district. Or their CM is giving lovely advice, or the district party chair is giving lovely advice.
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Oct 21, 2015 02:43
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My Facebook feed is full of October Surprises, it's beautiful.Mooseontheloose posted:Because they know better than you about their district. Or their CM is giving lovely advice, or the district party chair is giving lovely advice. But I live in their district... I totally buy the "party chair is an idiot" angle though. Jackson Taus fucked around with this message at 03:29 on Oct 21, 2015 |
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Oct 21, 2015 02:49
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Dr. Arbitrary posted:I'm going to be the media guy for a candidate, it'll be my first campaign. Ted Cruz rolls with Wordpress! Don't be like Ted Cruz! (actually it's fine if you know what you're doing)
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Oct 21, 2015 04:17
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Nothing like a good fall walk packet to remind you why you do this 
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Oct 25, 2015 00:28
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2016 is fast approaching so to anyone who posts, reads, or lurks this thread do you have any suggestions for the 2016 thread?
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Oct 30, 2015 00:50
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I'm going to be helping manage my first campaign so I'm interested in anything to do with that kind of stuff. Recommended platforms for websites. How to best use Facebook. What the gently caress is an Instagram? What techniques are effective for GOTV? How do I get people to actually vote for my guy? How do I attach a giant sign to the roof of my car so that it won't flop over while I drive it in a parade?
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Oct 30, 2015 00:57
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Dr. Arbitrary posted:
Get union labor! PS: Hey everyone in the thread, read this: http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/run-2016/2015/10/29/jeb-bushs-campaign-blueprint Mooseontheloose fucked around with this message at 01:14 on Oct 30, 2015 |
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Oct 30, 2015 00:59
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Mooseontheloose posted:crazy people don't like me How do managers deal with crazy candidates, like your Sharon Angles, Ben Carsons or Lincoln Chafees? Is it just a slog for your paycheck and hope you made them shut up enough to win, or are there methods that help mitigate the crazy egoists?
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Oct 30, 2015 01:17
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Slaan posted:How do managers deal with crazy candidates, like your Sharon Angles, Ben Carsons or Lincoln Chafees? Is it just a slog for your paycheck and hope you made them shut up enough to win, or are there methods that help mitigate the crazy egoists? I tend to think their campaign managers are true believers types or super scummy. Take a look at the whole Ron Paul thing that just happened, they were bribing people to get out of the race. They think of politics as a con to make money or to gain power or again, they really believe the poo poo their candidate is spewing. Sometimes, you really need the paycheck and donor database for races further in your life too.
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Oct 30, 2015 01:23
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Dr. Arbitrary posted:I'm going to be helping manage my first campaign so I'm interested in anything to do with that kind of stuff. What size is your race? I'm guessing you're talking about something in between "Town Council" and "State Legislature" here? Dr. Arbitrary posted:What the gently caress is an Instagram? It's like Twitter or Facebook, but for photo-sharing. Dr. Arbitrary posted:What techniques are effective for GOTV? Depends on race size. Mailers are usually pretty good - send a handful of them in the weeks leading up to the election. If it's a small race you can have your candidate on the doors, but if it's a larger race that's less of a beneficial use of their time than fundraising. Is this election in November? If so, attach yourself to the Presidential campaign like a remora. Dr. Arbitrary posted:How do I attach a giant sign to the roof of my car so that it won't flop over while I drive it in a parade? With large, free-standing signs or parade banners what often works is putting some holes in it so that the wind blows through it instead of blowing it over. I don't know how to do that classily though.
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Oct 30, 2015 01:45
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To be clear, I'm not running for office, but I'm running the campaign for a guy who is. It's for state legislature, non-competitive district, ultra low turnout. All we've got to do is win the Primary.
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Oct 30, 2015 01:56
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Dr. Arbitrary posted:To be clear, I'm not running for office, but I'm running the campaign for a guy who is. I sent you a PM. Let's chat.
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Oct 30, 2015 01:59
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I hate paid canvassers. You'd think that the canvassers you're paying would be the ones who do the best job and who are the most efficient. That would be false. They'll talk about how they've done this all before, but then despite training they don't understand things like "yes, you need to fill in the data sheets I just handed you" or "leave the lit at every door on your list even if they're not home" after I tell them. I had one who had a 51 door packet and who knocked 43 doors of it in 5 hours - (a) gently caress you for doing 43/51 doors, which made a staffer have to drive back out to the turf to finish it, and (b) this is the suburbs, you ought to be knocking more than 40-something doors in 5 hours. And another who knocked 30-something doors in like 6+ hours. When confronted about this, he said something to the effect of "well you only gave me a small packet and I wanted to work more hours so I took my time" and it's just like WTF WHY WOULDN'T YOU ASK FOR A BIGGER PACKET OR JUST COME BACK AND GRAB ANOTHER ONE?!?
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Nov 1, 2015 03:22
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Does anyone in this thread work in Chicago?
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Nov 3, 2015 18:16
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Jackson Taus posted:I hate paid canvassers. You'd think that the canvassers you're paying would be the ones who do the best job and who are the most efficient. That would be false. They'll talk about how they've done this all before, but then despite training they don't understand things like "yes, you need to fill in the data sheets I just handed you" or "leave the lit at every door on your list even if they're not home" after I tell them. I had one who had a 51 door packet and who knocked 43 doors of it in 5 hours - (a) gently caress you for doing 43/51 doors, which made a staffer have to drive back out to the turf to finish it, and (b) this is the suburbs, you ought to be knocking more than 40-something doors in 5 hours. And another who knocked 30-something doors in like 6+ hours. When confronted about this, he said something to the effect of "well you only gave me a small packet and I wanted to work more hours so I took my time" and it's just like WTF WHY WOULDN'T YOU ASK FOR A BIGGER PACKET OR JUST COME BACK AND GRAB ANOTHER ONE?!? Paid canvassers are being paid to do a job that is temporary with no likely promotion opportunities. They don't get paid more for working their asses off. They will do the absolute bare minimum unless you tell them they need to do more or won't get paid. We used to pay per packet rather than per hour, so if you worked your rear end off you'd make more money. But that requires serious QC to ensure they actually knocked the doors, since it provides incentive to fleece you.
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Nov 5, 2015 23:27
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I've been shanghaied into a debate watching party. In January NBC is doing a Democratic Debate and I'm supposed to put together the tech for a big debate party. Anyone know how I can stream the debate and be assured that it'll work, I heard the CNBC one wasn't available for streaming online, anyone know how I'd plan for this kind of thing in advance?
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Nov 6, 2015 04:52
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I'm going to be helping a candidate's team out with some video editing. Any tips on how to make videos interesting and get people to watch more than a few seconds while they scroll through their facebook feed?
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Nov 9, 2015 11:07
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