Here's how an outsider can become Los Angeles mayor
If money is no object, can an outsider candidate win an election in the city of Los Angeles?
That was the question raised by the June primary campaign of businessman and billionaire Rick Caruso, who spent a phenomenal amount of money on advertising in his race for mayor, his first run as a candidate.
Caruso was comfortably in first place when the polls closed on June 7, but then the county tabulated the late-arriving absentee and provisional ballots. Longtime politician Karen Bass levitated into first place with 43.1% of the vote to Caruso's 36%.
According to campaign finance disclosures, Bass spent about $3.2 million on her campaign, and Caruso spent $40.9 million on his.
Bass has the endorsements of labor unions that can put boots on the ground to knock on carefully selected doors to get out the vote for their candidate.
What's a first-time politician to do? Can it be done?
I know a little bit about this challenge from personal experience. In 2013, I ran in a field of 11 candidates in a special election for the state Assembly, and it shocked many people when I finished in the top two in the primary. Then, despite a 2-1 disadvantage in voter registration and a roughly 10-1 disadvantage in campaign spending, I came within about 300 votes of winning in the general election. The following year, in the regular election cycle, I gave it another try and finished with about 43% of the vote in a district with approximately 24% Republican registration.
I did it with door-hangers and yard signs. These low-tech, old-school, inexpensive tools have significant advantages over the indecipherable strategies of social media gurus and the slick advice of professional consultants.
Here's why: Most people don't care about politics and elections, but they're very unhappy with the way things are going. A candidate has to reach the people who don't care about politics and give them a reason to want to vote and persuade other people to vote.
As a candidate, you have about two seconds to tell the disinterested non-voter your name, what you're going to do for them and the date of the election. You'd be surprised how many people don't know.
You have to reach the disinterested non-voters where they live. A low-tech yard sign on the neighbor's lawn is seen every day, and it is like a trusted local endorsement. It suggests that a neighbor who pays attention to politics has researched the race and picked a candidate, and that neighbor lives in similar circumstances, not in some mansion somewhere.
A low-tech door-hanger with the candidate's message, as well as information on how to find a polling place and when to vote, is always seen as it's removed from the door knob. You have about two seconds to persuade a person to read it.
Door-hangers should go on every door and should also include information on how eligible residents can register to vote. You'd be surprised how many people don't know.
Sometimes candidates release biographical ads, as if to say, “I'm just like you.” But disinterested non-voters don't care who you are. What will get them interested is what you're going to do for them.
For my campaign, the message was “Protect Proposition 13.” The door-hangers described more than half a dozen legislative constitutional amendment proposals that would have made it easier to raise property taxes, and how they could be stopped.
Other messages that would give people a reason to vote: Utility bills are too high; homeless encampments are not compassionate and can't be allowed any longer; no more broken windows, no more smash-andgrab.
The unspoken question you're answering is always, “What are you going to do for me?”
Professionals in politics sneer at yard signs and door-hangers, but let me share some numbers with you.
The total number of ballots cast in the city of Los Angeles in the June 7 primary was 662,514. The total number of registered voters in the city of Los Angeles for that election: 2,150,902.
The total number of votes for Karen Bass was 278,511. The total number of votes for Rick Caruso was 232,490.
“Experts” say non-voters don't care about elections. But elections are about the future, and everybody cares about that.