Ok, there's 7 openings and so you figure - why not? Anyone can win. And in fact, there is a lot more opportunity this November. But that doesn't mean you can just walk in. Even the PLAN-Boulder back candidates have to do some campaigning.
So here's my suggestions if you want to win.
- Start sucking up to PLAN-Boulder and the Sierra Club. Most elections their recommended slate wins every seat. (So much for Boulder being a hotbed of independent thinkers.)
- Get a good campaign manager. You need someone who is plugged in to the local power structure, has good instincts, and will work their tail off.
- Continue sucking up to PLAN-Boulder and the Sierra Club.
- Stay vague in your position statements. (And yes I will ding you for that in my posts.) Specificity just gives people something to get upset about as everyone knows the best way to implement every issue. Write these now.
- Raise Money. You need ads, yard signs, robo-calls, etc. And those things cost money. Equally important, if you don't raise substantial bucks people will assume (reasonably so) you can't win and will vote for someone else. And someone who donates money to you has skin in the game - they will campaign for you more. Figure you need $10,000.00 - $15,000.00 to be a contender.
- Put together a good website. It is the absolute cheapest way to get votes. And for many it is the only way they will "hear" from you. Put that together now.
- Do not put a forum in your website. If you have a blog, disable comments. In both cases people do not treat it as a way to have a conversation - they treat it as a way to play gotcha with the candidate.
- Everyone you talk to is a potential voter. Give them a reason to care if you are elected. And get a donation from them. Every single person you talk to from now to November. Every one. Because if you don't do this, there are at least 7 others that will do so.
- Find a "media person" who will help you write your position papers, answer questionnaires, etc. This is key because you need to tell each group exactly what they want to hear, in a way that you are not contradicting yourself.
- And finally, do whatever you need to do to get that PLAN-Boulder and Sierra Club endorsement.
That's it. Execute on the above well and you have a very good chance of winning. And then you can listen to everyone complain about the job you are doing and how they would do it so much better.
