It's not as big and exciting today as the Hackett victory (modulo tampering), but I think/hope my press release today is the start of an important shift in the way we conduct our campaigns.
The logic is solid:
- If we can make good use of competition in our primaries, then we will strengthen our candidates and our party.
- If we increase competition then we will increase costs, which will weaken our party.
- Therefore we need a way to gain the benefits of increased competition and more candidates but with a fixed or nearly fixed cost for the whole primary campaign.
The public service style of campaigning that Gur Tsabar is using so effectively meets those criteria. So there just HAS to be a way to get from here (routinely clearing the field) to there (nurturing party growth through competitive public service events).
For Immediate Release
Date: Tuesday, August 2, 2005
Contact:
Eric Loeb, GoodWorks-PAC, 215-849-2737, info@goodworks-pac.org
Shireen Barday, Tsabar campaign, 917-697-9402, shireen@gurforcitycouncil.com
GOODWORKS-PAC.ORG ANNOUNCES A NEW MODEL FOR ALL DEMOCRATIC CAMPAIGNS
(Philadelphia, PA) GoodWorks-PAC.org, a Federal political action committee based in Pennsylvania, has endorsed the campaign of New York City Council candidate Gur Tsabar as a model for all Democratic campaigns. GoodWorks-PAC.org recruits and assists Democratic candidates who use public service in their campaigns. These campaigns highlight Democratic values, earn positive media, and strengthen the Democratic Party's ability to turn out voters.
Gur Tsabar, a Democratic candidate for City Council in New York's 2nd District, has achieved stunning success by organizing his campaign activities around important community service events. To date, Gur's campaign has built a 500-book library for an elementary school in the East Village, handed out tax assistance coupons for low-income families, orchestrated a rock concert to benefit tenants at risk of losing their affordable housing, distributed emergency cell phones to seniors, conducted a clothing drive for victims of domestic violence in New York City shelters, organized a massive district-wide voter registration drive, produced a small business resource guide to help local entrepreneurs, and most recently he planned a food drive for hungry families in the New York City.
"Gur Tsabar has been using public service in his campaign for many months now, and it has been extremely effective for him," said GoodWorks-PAC.org founder, Eric Loeb. "He has helped his constituents and been a more successful campaigner as a result. We want to highlight his campaign, endorse his candidacy, and continue to learn from his outstanding example."
"I am running for office to help people," said Tsabar. "I can think of no better way to focus campaign energy then on putting much needed resources back into the community - where they belong. My campaign reflects the values I will bring to the City Council."
About New York City Council candidate, Gur Tsabar
Mr. Tsabar is a four-year veteran of New York's City Hall, the son of immigrants, a New York marathon runner, a current advisor to New York City Council Speaker Gifford Miller, an involved community leader, a Finance graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, and a man with a mission. Gur Tsabar wants to make government more understandable and approachable: a friendlier place, where information, assistance and support flow freely.
For more information see www.gurforcitycouncil.com.
About GoodWorks-PAC.org founder Eric Loeb
Dr. Loeb founded the historic collaboration between the Clinton White House and the MIT Artificial Intelligence lab. He has since led the way in applying new technologies to political campaigns. Loeb was the lead software engineer for Vice President Gore's Presidential campaign in 2000, and the chief internet architect for the Democratic National Committee through 2003, where he was a key advocate for the party's switch to open source software, and its principal analyst of online fundraising.
For more information see www.GoodWorks-PAC.org
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