Announcing FreeKeene.com!

[Kat Kanning]

Meeting today at 4:00

[FTL_Ian]

How'd it go?  We were out of town. 

[earthhaven]

The Underground took over!

[Russell Kanning]

yea ... the only person running for Keene City Council is Julia ... anarchy or apathy has taken over

[d_goddard]

the only person running for Keene City Council is Julia

Then everyone needs to focus on helping win this first victory.
LTE's would go a long way, as would lit drops.
Does Julia have any palm cards to pass out? Is she walking door-to-door?
When is the election?

Here's the Keene Sentinel LTE submission page
http://www.sentinelsource.com/FormLayout.asp?formcall=lettertoeditor

[FTL_Ian]

As I understand it, she's a little too timid for door-to-door at this point.  She does not want to bother people, which I totally understand.

[d_goddard]

How about mail to registered voters?
Getting the roster & addresses is easy.
It's a little money, but I bet some Free Keene supporters would consider it a worthy cause for donation.

[FTL_Ian]

How about mail to registered voters?
Getting the roster & addresses is easy.
It's a little money, but I bet some Free Keene supporters would consider it a worthy cause for donation.

We already have the database, but it may be more affordable to simply flyer those houses.  Direct mail is expensive.

Word is the current Ward 4 counselor will not be running for reelection.  We have yet to actually look at the database or the ward map to see how many households we're dealing with.  It can't be too many...

[d_goddard]

Flyering sounds good.
Please post if you'd like help.
A rational voice in Keene civic life is worth a hell of a lot -- maybe more than you realize.
I for one am happy to help any way I can.

[Vote Tyler Stearns]

As I understand it, she's a little too timid for door-to-door at this point.  She does not want to bother people, which I totally understand.

Hey Julia:  When Tyler (Stearns) ran for state rep last year, he did a lot of door-to-door campaigning and it really helped people connect a face to the name and proved to a lot of people that, although he was young and running as an independent with a heavy freedom/liberty agenda, he was sincere and had a lot of mature, sound ideas.  Also, during our door knocking we often heard people say that they'd never even met their current state rep, and they were so impressed that Tyler was taking the time to speak to them face-to-face and ask for their input as well as their vote.

Door knocking wasn't easy for Tyler.  Don't know if you've ever met him, but he's very quiet and reserved...not really into small talk...which seems to be the antithesis of a normal "politician."  Tyler also went to Toastmasters (do you do that already?), and it helped tremendously.  Not only did he get to hone his speaking skills at Toastmasters, but he was able to practice his actual speeches. Before he hit the road door knocking, Tyler also did some role playing to practice his "message."  No matter how outgoing or not you are, you definitely need to prepare your talking points before you work the belly-to-belly campaigning. 

Good luck!

[error]

You could have a copy of the city budget on a forklift that you drive around when you go door-to-door.

[d_goddard]

I'd urge you not to spend too much time laying out a platform and how you'd handle each issue.
It sucks in many ways, but the most important aspect to getting elected is for the voters to form an emotional connection to you -- not an intellectual one.

They need to have seen you in person.

They need to know you are making an effort to reach out to them, and that you actually want to listen to their problems.
It doesn't matter than 75% of their gripes will have nothing to do with anything at the town government level. It doesn't matter that you don't have a nice simple and palatable solution for their issue. Just having a person listen attentively does so much more to bind them to you than any philosophy will, at this stage of the game.

For triple-extra bonus points, give out your phone number "just in case they have any questions or concerns." 99% won't ever call you -- but they will immediately distrust any other candidate who fails to do likewise.

They need to know you're young, bright, hardworking, and that you want to make a difference for the better in the world. It doesn't matter that they haven't thought about the best way to make the world better, or that every politician in Keene uses violence toward that end.

All the philosophy comes much, much later.
First there has to be trust.
And before the trust comes, there has to be that basic gut-level "I like this person"

Go door to door.
Start with your friends and the people you already know. That makes the rest much easier.
You may actually come to enjoy it

[Vote Tyler Stearns]

Great points, Denis.  You reminded me of a few things we learned during Tyler's campaign...the phone number/email info IS really important to constituents.  A number of people commented that, not only had they never met their state rep (in this case), but they certainly didn't know how to reach her.  Tyler did have several people call him.  Also, the state rep Tyler ran against ran ads in local newspapers and never included her contact information...just a "vote for me" type of display ad, no phone number, email or website...stupid really.  I agree, Denis, that you shouldn't spend too much time laying out a platform.  A PR guy that we consulted with, who also ran for political office, stressed the need to have no more than three main issues in your "platform" and know them well (the city budget, whatever), and make these three main issues your talking points.  He said that if someone wanted more details on an issue you're unfamiliar with to say, "That's an interesting issue.  I'll have to research it and get back to you" and get their contact info.

Last thing before I shut up, during our local elections five people ran for an open selectman's seat.  The buzz around town was that 4 out of the 5 weren't electable because they'd never or rarely even gone to selectmen's meetings.  How could they run for a position that they really knew nothing about?  So, you really gotta go to the meetings if you want to run for a spot!

[Vote Tyler Stearns]

OK, I said I was going to shut up, but one more thing.

Know who your "good voters" are.  Get a copy of the certified voter checklist that shows who actually voted in the last city council election.  You can use that for doing a targeted mailing and door knocking.  They've already proven that they vote.  Don't waste too much of your valuable time trying to woo people who don't even go to the polls and vote. 

[peacenic]

Are the students at Keene State allowed to vote, or is some type of residency required?  If they can vote, you should make marijuana legalization #1 on your platform, and campaign all over campus.  Maybe there aren't that many weed smokers, but it would definitely get me out to vote.