Hey Kossacks,
I've decided to become an author, and I need your help in making the book worthwhile. Perhaps the deluge of depressing political news in November and December 2010 brought me to the point of deciding it was time to write a book. Or perhaps it was the nagging of family and friends. Or perhaps both. But I digress.
As some of you know, I was a candidate for local office (Township Council) in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey during the 2010 election cycle. While I was unsuccessful, I enjoyed the experience enough to consider writing a book, entitled "How To Run For Local Office".
Then I looked back on nine years of political work, including the fact that most of the candidates I have worked for have lost, and realized that I much more to say about losing than winning.
The result is the book I am currently working on: "How Not To Run for Local Office".
I have only seen one other book on running for local office - a 1998 guide by a former Judge in Ohio entitled "How to win a local election". While the Judge's book is solid for the 1990s, a lot of what he describes has become archaic and/or obsolete. I feel a new how-to (or is it how-not-to?)is in order. In addition, I have wanted for some time to write about my political experiences, and this seems to be a good starting point for doing so.
As part of this book, I'm reaching out to the blogosphere for advice and examples. I should note that I'm particularly looking for personal stories that illustrate the difficulties of running for local office. Most candidates for local office (be it Mayor, Council or School Board, or in some states other posts like Tax Collector) tend to be like me - they haven't run before, and they make mistakes aplenty in the process. My hope is that readers of the book will learn some valuable, first-hand lessons in avoiding those pitfalls.
I should also note that my perspective will not be the same as others. First, I'm a young man who first got involved in politics at 13. As such, my introduction to politics is probably different than most first-time candidates. Second, I ran as a Democrat in a Republican-leaning town; my hope is to make the book accessible to Republicans in Democratic-leaning towns as well, in addition to everyone in between. The examples and perspectives you, the reader can provide will be (I hope) quite useful in making the book more useful.
I have begun the process of organizing my thoughts into chapters. Each chapter will include a section entitled "Don't do what I did!", which will cover the mistakes I made as a candidate (as well as any examples you, the reader may have) The book will (as of December 2010) resemble the following structure:
Introduction: Why I am writing this book.
Chapter 1: 10 reasons why you should run for local office .
Chapter 2: Laying the groundwork. Here I'll cover the importance of getting the facts about your town/city/district, including the predominant local issues, before announcing anything. The importance of political networking and building credibility in the community will also be stressed.
Chapter 3: Filing and Announcing. Here I'll cover the filing process (based on New Jersey's process), including gathering signatures, running on (or off) the Party line, getting a solid Treasurer and finding the right campaign manager for you. I'll also discuss the best ways to get the most press coverage out of your announcement.
Chapter 4: Dialing for Dollars. In this chapter I'll go over the do-s and don't-s of raising funds for your campaign. Unless you already have tremendous name recognition/popularity(as one of my opponents did), you will need to ask for money. I will also include some thoughts on the pros and cons of self-funding your campaign.
Chapter 5: Growing the Grassroots. A discussion of the best ways to get volunteers, of expanding your circle of supporters, the trade-offs of fundraisers versus free events, and the importance of keeping your network involved and appreciated. I'll also include my thoughts on Party infrastructure, and how much (or little) you can expect from it in helping your campaign.
Chapter 6: Media matters. This will be a two-part chapter, with one section on working with the "traditional" press (mainly newspapers), and the other concerning online activity. By "online" I am referring to making a campaign website, blogging/Facebook, and seeking contributions from the "Netroots" - and why it isn't for everyone.
Chapter 7: The Personal Touch. I will stress the importance of going door-to-door, particularly with friends and supporters from the neighborhood. I'll talk about how to approach voters, the best places to campaign (other than door-to-door), and the pros and cons of yard signs/billboards/buttons/magnets/etc. in getting the word out about your campaign.
Chapter 8: Message matters. Here I'll discuss how to tailor your beliefs on the issues facing your town/city to the electorate that will decide whether you're capable of tackling those issues. Campaign literature, and how to use it properly, will be a major part of this chapter.
Chapter 9: Things to watch out for. Possible pitfalls and obstacles that you may encounter as a candidate will be discussed here. Running mates, your opponent's tactics and keeping your story straight are areas of discussion.
Chapter 10: Crunch Time. This chapter will be about GOTV (Get Out The Vote) strategies, having a strong Election Day team on hand, and on debating your opponents. I'll also stress the importance of not losing your head (figuratively speaking) as the candidate.
So, that's how I've planned the book out. As I wrote before, any help from you, the reader - particularly if it's an example from personal experience - will be greatly appreciated! You can e-mail me (it's on my profile) if you want to keep your help confidential.
Thanks for reading, and I hope to have my book completed by mid-2011.
Stephen "Mr. Liberal" Yellin