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Consultant's Corner
Avoiding Rookie Mistakes (part1)
By Stacy D. Cole
August 20, 2004
Every person in elected office today was once a rookie candidate. And,more than likely, there were mistakes made in that first campaign from which they learned valuable lessons.
It is important to minimize (or hopefully eliminate) mistakes so that you have a smooth running campaign. The fewer mistakes made, the more you will enjoy your first campaign. Remember this: mistakes will happen.
What follows are the 15 mistakes commonly made by first time candidates that you should avoid, and how to avoid them.
1. Candidate as Campaign Manager/Treasurer, etc-The candidate needs to place his/her focus on getting votes. This is where it becomes important to have these other positions filled, either by paid staff or volunteers. The candidate MUST place all of their efforts on getting supporters and votes.
2. Forgetting your loved ones-Before the election, you have your family. After the election, you will have your family. How strong those relationships are post-election depends on how you treat them during the campaign. Make time for them during the campaign, preferably without any distracting calls from the campaign headquarters.
3. Vague job responsibilities for staff-It is important for the staff to know exactly what they are supposed to do. When the staff and/or volunteers are not sure what to do, they may start concentrating on things they are not supposed to do. It may lead to underhanded tactics and backstabbing. Give people specific jobs and responsibilities so that there is no doubt in their mind as to what they have to accomplish.
4. Bad recordkeeping-A great way to draw negative attention to your campaign and yourself is by not having someone keep proper records for the campaign. The last thing you need is to have your State Elections Board or the FEC questioning your campaign finance reports. This is bad news for you, great news for your opponent. Make sure the person handling the treasurer's duties knows the ins and outs of the new campaign finance laws. It is to your advantage.
5. The Republican Party will help me win-The local, state, and/or national party should not be relied upon to get you to victory. You need to run your own campaign, with your own campaign organization. If they do help you, all the better. Also, do not count on the "coattail effect." Ever increasingly, there are little or no coattails bringing candidates into elected office. The only people you can count on to get you into office are the people who specifically vote for you.
6. I have an easy to beat opponent-Never underestimate your opponent, whether they are a seasoned incumbent or relative newcomer like you. Run your campaign as if you are behind and need to play catch-up. Do not leave anything to chance.
7. I don't need professional help in a small race-Consultants are viewed as being an expense that isn't needed in small, or even mid-size, campaigns. Consultants, or even local political operatives, can give you an outside perspective to your campaign that is not available to those that are deeply involved in the day-to-day operations. Campaigns as local as school board elections and city/county commission races use the services of consultants. Don't discount the expertise they have that can help your campaign. Also, they may not be as expensive as you may think.
8. Committing to events months in advance-There needs to be flexibility in the campaign schedule, especially in the last month prior to Election Day. You may upset and/or offend supporters by having to cancel an event near the end of the campaign. Hopefully, they will be very understanding and know that campaigns, especially in the last month, may need to change the focus of their energies from what was not nearly as important last month to something that is very important RIGHT NOW. During the last month of the campaign, do not schedule events unless they are debates or high visibility functions more than 2 weeks ahead.
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