A campaign manager’s advice to Peterborough council candidates

More people are coming forward to run for city council this fall

We are 10 days into the period during which people can formally register to run for municipal councillor, mayor or school board trustee. To their credit, a substantial number have already done so; the willingness of people to throw their hat into the political ring is a telling measure of the health of our local democracy.

The City of Peterborough has done solid work in making election information available to candidates, including its participation in seminars designed to make the passage from citizen to candidate as informed as possible.

This information has to do with bread-and-butter campaign issues such as candidate eligibility and nomination, election finances, signs, third party advertising, record keeping and reporting. The active involvement of fellow columnist and former Peterborough mayor Sylvia Sutherland has been an added bonus, especially for first-time candidates.

As is to be expected, there are more intensive levels of campaign intelligence and tactics available that are less likely to be taught by government employees; these are far more closely guarded for their potential commercialization by campaign management professionals. As one such practitioner, I want to share a few that have, over many campaigns, proven to be effective.

First and foremost, the activity of campaigning is not the same thing as the strategy of campaigning. The strategy always informs the activity and the activity exists only to advance the strategy. For example, campaign activities involving lawn signs, door to door canvassing, policy statements, communications and debates are all important. Nonetheless, they are only a means to an end – the equivalent of a point of sale to a marketing plan. They offer no unique advantage to a candidate unless they are managed for the expressed purpose of implementing a campaign strategy for winning.

A strategy begins with an assessment of allegiance, opposition and opportunity. It follows with a calculation of the political space between the promotion of your vote and the constraint of another’s vote. It relies on research to discover advantage and overcome disadvantage. It leads to the distilling of a simple message grounded typically in either hope or fear. It then provides direction to all the aforementioned activities, each of which is managed to consistently implement the strategy and its messaging. Second, candidates are well advised to assemble a team and meet regularly. Assign responsibilities for all your key deliverables, the most important of which is methodical adherence to the campaign strategy. Be disciplined about the confidentiality of all team communications. Review the models for door to door canvassing and have the team help you carry out the one that best suits your style. Remember that you are a performer: rehearse your presentations and messaging as often as you can and have the team offer unvarnished suggestions for improvement. Find strength in the team and reward it with your confidence and leadership.

Third, instead of having the news of your candidacy leak out sporadically, launch it with a bang. Arrange for a big crowd in a small room. The launch may be your best opportunity during the entire campaign to deliver a controlled and uncontested message. It is free media; it may discourage potential competitors; it reveals key supporters; it helps attract volunteers and donors; and it can be the first step in creating the highly valuable perception of momentum.

As in all self-directed public events, be mindful of media deadlines. That is, if you want to receive in-depth, same-day media coverage, don’t have an event at the dinner hour. Today’s news is always more current than tomorrow’s.

I will continue with part two of this column next week.

‘... instead of having the news of your candidacy leak out sporadically, launch it with a bang’