Ottawa Sun
Published: Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Uphill battle ahead: Many challengers already campaigning for months to unseat incumbents

Last week we looked at some of the ward races and the record number of candidates vying for seats on city council this October.

In recent conversations with challengers across the city there is a common refrain amongst them. They are tired, frustrated but steadfastly determined to push forward over the next 82 days until the polls are closed.

As a candidate in the 2004 general election, I have a sense of what they are going through.

Some of these folks have been door-knocking and attending events since early spring with, for the most part, little to no media coverage — save for local radio, municipal bloggers and some scant print pickup — and let’s be blunt, minimal voter interest.

This is not a knock against voters but history tells us that we really don’t get engaged in local elections until after Labour Day.

Moreover, most challengers are doing this in their spare time at nights and on weekends — since they have day jobs — and many will use their vacation time in the last two to four weeks leading up to election day to go all out in their electoral quest.

But don’t feel sorry for them, this choice is of their own free will and it pales in comparison to the struggles of a cancer patient or the daily sacrifices of our forces personnel stationed across the globe. 

Yet I sympathize with local political aspirants since most of their incumbent opponents are only now getting their campaigns in gear.

Incumbents enjoy the advantage of established supporter lists, proven fundraising contacts and campaign organizations that can come together over a weekend.

Meanwhile, the challengers have relentlessly built their contact lists, fundraising prospects and on-the-ground organizations over months … only to — at best — draw even with the incumbent in their ward.

Media obscurity

My advice — and you get what you pay for so thanks for your quarter — to challengers is suck it up and accept this reality. Apart from a few local all-candidates debates, a cable TV appearance and perfunctory profiles of your ward in the local media, you will remain mired in media obscurity.

The race for mayor is hot and the local media simply do not have the resources to properly follow 23 ward races. After Labour Day, just seven weeks remain (not the luxury of 10 weeks as in 2006) until folks go to the polls.

 To level this playing field, candidates should employ as much technology as possible in addition to their door-to-door canvassing and dropping into community events.

Ideas include posting a downloadable PDF of your main canvass piece on your website. Also you should have an embedded video or YouTube link of one minute to two minutes maximum, explaining why you want to be a councillor, your main ideas and professional and community background. Go viral, it can’t hurt!

Finally, it’s time for a reality check. If you don’t have a website, can’t muster up eight to 10 volunteers for lit drops or phone banks on a consistent basis and really don’t have a clue as to how you will raise 15K to 25K to run your campaign, do everyone a favour including yourself, don’t take out a line of credit for this, take your name of the ballot and plan for 2014.