I am writing to tell you about the exciting and inspiring service-based campaign from the ’06 cycle. Matt Dunne was the 2006 Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor of Vermont. This Vermont state Senator and former director of the AmeriCorps*VISTA program nearly won against a popular incumbent using a campaign based entirely on community service projects. Better yet, GoodWorks-PAC was not involved in his campaign in any way.
Update: Please be aware that most of the original material this diary was written by fantastic GoodWorks-PAC volunteer, Cindy Siegel, after her extensive review of Matt Dunne's website.
As the founder of Goodworks-PAC, my goal is to alter the flow of money in politics so that a substantial portion of every campaign’s budget will go toward solving real problems as a necessary part of the campaign. Estimates of total 2006 political media spending [1, 2] vary widely but generally top the $2 billion mark. If 25% of old media money went into local organizations as a result of service-based campaigning, that would have a huge effect.
In order to bring about a paradigm shift in campaign methodology, GoodWorks-PAC seeks to
- Promote and observe positive service-based campaigns that win
- Restore competitive Democratic primaries using service-based campaigns
- Strengthen the Democratic Party with positive primaries
So now you can see why it is amazing and wonderful to me that GoodWorks-PAC had nothing to do with the Dunne campaign. In a section of his site marked Service is Politics, Dunne lays out his sense of service politics and how it can revolutionize the political process. His thoughts are similar to my own. They are also similar to Blue Tiger Democrats founder Bill Samuels, and to those of Democrats Work founder Thomas Bates. Bill and Thomas and I all independently founded our organizations to promote service-based politics. Dunne’s campaign was his own, and his campaign site points to several more organizations (see below) that articulate the idea of service-based campaigning.
You know there’s something big in the air when so many people articulate and act on the same simple, paradigm-shifting idea at the same time.
Of course, it is also sad and disappointing that Goodworks-PAC had nothing to do with the Dunne campaign. I wish we had been there to learn more from his example. Dunne's use of service politics went far beyond picking up trash in a local park. Rather, they selected "target towns" which they believed would be important in the upcoming general election. Dunne’s staff worked with non-profit and social service leaders in those towns and designed service projects addressing the issues those leaders identified. In conjunction with his service projects, Dunne held town hall meetings to discuss ways the issue. Both the service projects and the town hall meetings were advertised through door-knocking and phone-banking. For example, an event in which volunteers stocked a food bank was tied into the issue of hunger in Vermont and Dunne’s stand on state governments’ responsibility in combating hunger. Other events included trail building in conjunction with the Youth Conservation Corps, painting a boys and girls club, and hosting an ice cream party at a retirement home. His campaign is well worth a look.
While the idea of basing a political campaign on service projects may seem revolutionary, the day to day logistics of a Dunne-style service campaign do not differ greatly from those of an ordinary campaign. As in a traditional campaign each day’s campaign stops are pre-selected and organized by the campaign staff and volunteers. They arrive ahead of the candidate to set up and begin the event so the candidate can arrive and get right to work. The service work is no photo-op; Dunne did substantial work in fair weather and foul. However, at the appropriate time the candidate does stop working and addresses the crowd before moving onto his or her next scheduled event. As in any campaign several events can be scheduled for each day.
At service-based political events the needs of the community and the beliefs of the candidate should converge, and the candidate and his/her volunteers should be able to contribute to solving the problem. This is not a terribly restrictive criterion. Economic issues and social issues can both be readily addressed by service politics. Is the candidate interested in hunger? Then restocking a food bank would be appropriate. Is the candidate interested in homelessness? He can fix up a homeless shelter. Assisting at a jobs training center can be relevant to welfare reform. Matching start up minority business owners with accountants and lawyers willing to volunteer their time can be related to economic improvement. Playgrounds and vigils for violence prevention; AIDS test and needle exchanges for AIDS awareness; and on and on.
The service-based campaigner does not need to plan every event. There are numerous community service projects occurring every day, and they are generally happy to have the additional people and focus that the campaign’s participation brings. In addition, as I mentioned before, Dunne’s campaign has identified several national organizations that are willing to lend expertise, people and even money to service-based campaign projects:
Campus Compact: http://www.compact.org is a coalition of more than 1,000 college and university presidents, representing some 5 million students dedicated to building civic engagement into campus and academic life and educating students for civic and social responsibility. They have both a national and 31 state offices, which share knowledge and resources, create economic development initiatives, and support service and service-learning efforts.
Corporation for National Service: http://www.nationalservice.org provides human capital, people power, from the nation's leading charities, such as Habitat for Humanity, the American Red Cross, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, to small faith-based and other community organizations. The Corporation provides financial support, through grants, and human support, through volunteer efforts, to more than 2,000 nonprofits. They engage AmeriCorps members in meeting community needs and strengthening the capacity and reach of the organizations where they serve.
The American Humanics program, http://www.humanics is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, and is the only national nonprofit organization to offer a course of study that equips students in colleges and universities across the country to become skilled professionals and leaders in America's nonprofit organizations. To ensure students' success, American Humanics provides leadership opportunities, internships, and scholarships as well as education curriculum. There are programs in colleges and universities across the country.
Center for Progressive Leadership (CPL), http://www.progressleaders.org/ is an organization that aids nonprofit leaders in transitioning to political activism. The CPL is a national political training institute dedicated to developing the next generation of progressive political leaders. Their programs are offered through many states with Pennsylvania the first state to have launched the State Political Leaders Fellowship in 2005. This 9 month long intensive program provided 60 emerging progressive leaders around the state with the training, networks and support they needed to develop a new level of political success.
On top of these, the service-based campaign can readily find local college community service organizations, including fraternity and sorority houses, and high school political and community service clubs.
At GoodWorks-PAC we believe that service-based campaigns tend to have larger, harder working, and more loyal volunteer forces than are found in standard campaigns. It certainly appears that Dunne’s campaign enjoyed this apparent benefit of service campaigning. Evidence of Dunne's success can be seen in the testimonials section of his site. It is clear that Matt genuinely inspired his team. How absurd are our politics when one has to point out that inspiration is an important campaign benefit? The value of inspiration is hard to quantify and it can’t be billed for at an hourly rate; it is frequently overlooked.
Dunne points to another advantage of service politics that had never occurred to me. Apparently today's young voter population sets records both for the lowest voter turnout rate and the highest community service performance rate in our nation's history. Young people are clearly more willing to serve than ever, but are completely disenchanted with the political process. Dunne observes that service politics is the mechanism that can bridge this gap. To bridge this gap Dunne’s campaign utilized college recruitment drives, special websites, a "meet-up" space on the internet, and contact with high school civics teachers. To reach out to traditionally disenfranchised voters and to give a voice to sectors of the population who are often voiceless in mainstream political communities, Dunne’s campaign recruited volunteers from within the organizations they were serving.
Finally, service politics results in a candidate who is better prepared to serve his or her constituency. A successful service-based candidate has had direct contact with the organizations and service providers that provide his constituents with critical services. She enters office not with abstract policy data but with a clear understanding of the real social issues in her district.
"Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress, therefore, depends on unreasonable people" – George Bernard Shaw
So please be unreasonable! Please join GoodWorks-PAC or one of our affiliates in our efforts to change the way politics works. Let’s make sure that all the service-based campaigns of 2008 are aware of each other and working together. Let’s ensure that their good examples make a profound change in American politics.