How to Run for Local Office

by Robert Thomas

careful in targeting our voters

making the most of our postage dollars and printing.

made more visits to people’s doorsteps than my opponent did.

find out about if and how you can loan your campaign money.

I never realized that I could have listed this as a loan and paid myself back from future fundraisers. Don’t make this mistake.

The rewards of the learning experience as well as the great feelings of satisfaction you will get from making your contributions to your community are just a few of many.

as long as you feel that you can handle the negatives that I warn you about in this book, is to “go for it”!

MAY THE BEST MAN WIN

all too often the best man or woman doesn’t win.

the best campaigner usually wins and sometimes that person is the worst person for the job.

it doesn’t matter to the voters who you are and how much experience you have ...

Stop thinking like a normal candidate or politician and start thinking out of the box.

understand why people vote the way they do. Face it, voters are fickle and in many cases, they don’t even consciously realize why they vote

voters are fickle and in ...

Most voters will not take the time to study the candidates whose names appear on the ballot when they vote.

They simply don’t have the time or the inclination to do so.

They usually will vote for whomever they think they feel comfortable with or they simply vote for the name...

The candidate, who gets the most votes, wins.

You now realize that you need to do things a little differently in order to win an election and stay in public office as long as you want to.

You now need to believe in the idea that there are more effective ways to get more votes than the other candidates.

we have all been taught the lesson that there is a right way and a wr...

many of us have learned in life that the right way is not always the best way or the most effective way.

GET ORGANIZED

RULES AND PROCEDURES.

first things that you need to do is find out what legal and proper paperwork and forms need to be filled out for your political committee.

elections division,

nominating petitions. In some communities, you can pay a filing fee

The local clerk’s office should be able to tell you where you need to start.

CREATING YOUR CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE

keep it as simple as possible.

CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS

Don’t get caught short,

Pick out one person and ask some questions pertaining to elections. Feel that person out and if you feel comfortable, make sure that you always deal with that person whenever you go there.

Check up on the rules concerning “in kind” contributions where people donate materials or service, since in most cases, you need to report it.

would recommend that you keep a computer file of all contributions and contributors.

YOUR INNER CIRCLE

These people should be people that you would trust your life to.

campaign strategy

Believe me when I say that most people cannot keep quiet.

Every person has at least one person they can “trust” with a secret.

Keep your inner circle down to the minimum you feel is necessary.

Some of your personal friends will want to be in the inner circle; don’t put them there unless you feel it is the best thing to do.

Remember, you are not in this race to keep everyone happy; yo...

start learning how to make the tough decisions now during the early st...

There is a definite difference between a family relationship and a po...

you will be able to hire a professional campaign manager but I would still have my own inner circle as advisors.

Your inner circle will be the heart of your campaign.

They will plan the strategy, write the campaign plan, help write the budget for the campaign and set pol...

When you select these people, select them also with the thought that you may want to appoint some of them to your staff or other positions if you are successful, b...

Don’t make any promises of appointments before the ...