How to Run for Local Office

by Robert Thomas

If there were only one thing that you could do in the election, it would and should...

History has proven time and time again that door-to-door campaigning is the most effective method of campaigning, and the best news is that it is th...

The exercise alone is another gr...

You must go out and stop at “good voters” doorsteps and ask them to support you in the election, especially since most people probably do not...

Incumbents have name recognition already and can sometimes win elections without going door-knocking,

As a new candidate, however, you absolutely, positively must do this!

TO STOP OR NOT TO STOP

Before you actually start, you need to make an important decision. You need to decide, depending on certain factors, whether to stop at every house on your walking lists, or to maximize your time by just going to houses that meet specific criteria.

the only people on your list are “good voters.”

Your decision will depend on how much time and volunteers you will have and how large your community is.

I would recommend using one list for each precinct. You will want to place a field on your computer list that will signify which voters always vote in the primary.

Another option besides only going to primary voter households is to only go to multiple voter households.

You will notice on your list that there are households that contain two, three, four, and in some cases, five or more “good voters” in one house.

You should be able to tell from your database how many households are in your community.

Use as an average the fact that you will spend about five minutes at each house.

Calculate how many people will be walking in the campaign and how many hours all of them, including yourself, will walk during the campaign and then calculate how many houses you and your team can stop at during the primary and during the general. If you are in a small enough ...

Personally, my first choice would be to go to the primary voter households and if time is running out, stop at only the primary voter households that hold multiple voters.

your lists contain only the “good voters.”

If you have too many rain days or if other problems arise that cause you to lose ground, switch methods accordingly. Remember the rule, voters per footfall.

You will want most of your inner circle to go doorknocking

also, so that you can cover more homes in one

eve...

set them up in teams and you can either send them in different areas of the community or you can all work...

takes the right personality to talk politics with people and they will have to be trained and briefed about your posi...

Here is a good way to cover a lot of ground and get some extra credit with the voters.

Take a group of six, eight or

ten people out in a neighborhood d...

Make sure that all of them tell the voters they talk to that the candidate is just over on the next street, and if they would like to personally ask the candidate a question, that they will see to it that yo...

Here is another great tip about walking door-todoor. Don’t go to the same area two nights in a row. Your opponent will be trying to track you and send in his or her workers to the same area you are working in, to try to negate your progress.

If you go to a different area each night or even every couple of hours, they may not get any reports about where you are. These are very effective methods of campaigning!

WHEN TO START

There are a lot of differing opinions about the starting date of a campaign. Some say if you start too early, people will forget about you by the time Election Day rolls around. Some say that people do not even pay attenti...

election, I would start at least four months before the general election.

INTRODUCTORY PIECE

standard doorknocker card

Don’t have them print it on paper stock, because you will be handling them all day and paper will not hold up.

recommend that you get your intro or doorknocker cards printed on 60-pound or 80-pound card stock, printed on both sides and about one-third the size of a normal 8½ x 11-inch piece of paper.

I would recommend the compartment-style clipboard over a regular clipboard since you can also store some of your material in the clipboard along with extra pens or pencils.

A color card stock with one color ink will do just fine for the life expectancy of political literature. That life expectancy is the time it takes for the voter to get from the mailbox to the trash can.

You want your picture on the front of the card and then some basic information on the card. You need personal information like your age, where you grew up, who has endorsed you, where you work, organizations you belong to, etc. Just bas...

Make sure that you print your postage permit and leave room for a label on the back of the card just in case you can afford to mail some of these intro cards out. Also, put down some of the ...

You will want to mention if you’re married and how many children you have, if any, as well as any degrees you hold or certifications you have. Do not make the intro piece too wordy and make sure to use big bold letters. Make sure that you also ask for their vote on...

still recommend that you do not put down the election dates on your intro cards or any of your...

The “good voters” that you have targeted will know when Election Day is.

You will most likely have to put your disclaimer on all pieces of campaign literature, so make sure that your printer knows that.

Check with the elections division, but usually, you are required to put the disclaimer on all campaign material, except maybe envelopes, in most cases.

SORRY I MISSED YOU

On the door hanger, you will only need to print on the one side. You want your picture on the top of the card. Just below your picture, the words “SORRY I MISSED YOU,” and just below that, your name. When you leave a sorry I missed you card, make sure that you sign your first name somewhere around your picture to give it the personal touch.

You can print on one side or both sides of the sorry I missed you card, but I would recommend you only print on one side to save money.

Your text can be whatever you want, but for example you could say, “I was in the neighborhood to talk to you about supporting me in my campaign for mayor, council, etc. I hope to meet you next time and I hope I will have your support on Election Day.”