Quote:
Originally Posted by Sir.Humphrey.Appleby
^ Chris, I didn't go back and check, but I am glad that being through the wringer of a local election process hasmade you come around to the ideas with parties (I seem to remember you thinking they would be substantially negative at best)
I am wondering what you think about this article from up in Edmonton: A pundit tries his hand at politics, any impressions you would add from your experience? |
Now that's an interesting read. Here’s a long response!
He talks about looking for a campaign manager. I had the choice of experience or someone I knew I could trust without a doubt. I chose to go with the later. I felt that my campaign manager and I could learn what was needed to execute. What would nag me awake at 2am would be questions of trust and competence. I chose to sleep at night!
I started to consider running very early. Sept of 2009. For me, the planning began the moment I decided this was something I should do; win or lose. I marinated is as much information about campaigns, municipal issues, and what being an Alderman was really about. It meant discussions with my spouse and my family. I never ran because others told me I should. I ran because I decided to run and because my spouse let me (they pay a price throughout the campaign and after... especially if the candidate wins!).
I launched officially in Feb 2010. This was against the wishes of my campaign manager. I wanted the head start to hit the doors and meet as many people as possible. He later admitted it was the right move!
That had a price though which I knew would come. In order to run a campaign starting in Feb 2010 all the way to Oct 2010 I needed endurance. I felt like quitting at least 6 times until nomination day came around. I kept myself going by saying "If you don't feel like quitting at least a few times, you're not working hard enough". I also prepared myself before hand from my research that those moments would come. That statement became my anchor.
I disagree with the feeling that a campaign is no place for comedy. If you can’t laugh at yourself or have others laugh at/with you, it’s going to be a long road. Take my story about going into the Bow to rescue one of my large format signs. Yeah, it’s a funny story and looks desperate, but as I stated at the forum “why waste what can be saved?” So it was funny but had real meaning behind it.
Campaign volunteers are awesome! It’s impossible to run a legitimate campaign without them. All of my volunteers believed in me and I involved them in decisions regardless of what role they played. Most importantly, I made sure that my core team were not “yes” people. I’m most likely to agree with myself already; so, it’s a waste of opinions if everyone around me does too! (this was something I brought over from my professional life)
We ran our campaign with a virtual campaign office leveraging Microsoft SharePoint, SalesForce, and Google Maps for coordination (example of maps on my facebook page). My feeling was that me and my volunteers should be out on the streets and not on couches in an office. The best part of this technology approach was that ipad, iphones, and blackberries all had access to virtual office tools from anywhere!
So what about the challenging parts…..
I’m a consultant. Very used to having my ideas criticized. It took a lot of thinking to get used to the idea that constant criticism is part of being an Alderman and being a candidate. I mean, I knew I would be criticized, but wow is that an understatement. Sometimes I would receive voicemails, most often emails. Once I was getting a coffee and actually had someone recognize me and become very angry towards me right in a coffee shop about an issue I had nothing to do with and was actually trying to have addressed! At the end of the day, I got used to it. It was simply something my mind had to adjust to.
The campaign all started with me back in Sept 2009. I grew this idea, made my positions, developed my own website, assessed the landscape, and built my core team. Then along comes my Campaign Manager to take it all away! Letting go was really tough. Eventually I did let it go… most of it anyway! I refused to have anyone see my emails before I did, touch my social media, or write my blog posts (I’m sure you can find spelling errors to prove this!). If you called my campaign you got my cell phone and I returned calls personally as soon as possible. Authenticity is important to me. The website and graphics were also something I did myself. I’m very particular about presentation and so kept my fingers on those things.
Would I run again? Yes. Would I do things differently? Some. Am I sad I lost? Hell no.
I look back at Chris Harper in 2009 and look at myself now and realize that I know so much more about the people, processes, and opportunities we have in Calgary than I ever did. Despite losing I gained so much.
Our City is complex with so many people and organizations all with different visions of what it should be. Things makes for a lot of disagreement, but also gives us a lot of potential. I’m diving right back into my work with the Federation of Calgary Communities, Chamber of Commerce, and am even going to be helping out on some more civically active organizations. All very exciting!
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This is also why at the end of the day I'm one of the most disenfranchised voters out there - because I'm keenly aware that most people don't spend the 5 minutes, and it's really all about name recognition and comfort levels.
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