It was a cold, bitter November Saturday when we got a knock on the door. Two weeks after the national election, and the local candidates were already planning for the next election.
The visitor was a man was planning to run for Village Board. He ran through a quick list of local problems and how we needed a more responsive local government. He said that he was doing initial canvassing now to help spread the word about his campaign. He handed me a single page brochure.
“Isn’t the election next March?” I asked.
“It is,” he replied, “but the petition window is very short.”
Turns out that for our village, petition signatures can only be collected within a short time period before the election. Basically, the future candidate was lining up support ahead of time. Besides getting his name out now, he was securing volunteers for his petition so that when he returned (in February, when it would be even colder) he would be able to quickly get the signatures within the required time to secure his name on the ballot.
The lesson here is to make sure you know your local election laws ahead of time. Sometimes the rules alone can make it quite difficult for a candidate to run, especially if they are a political outsider.
Starting early and planning out your calendar is the foundation of a good campaign.
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Tags: campaign promotion