Category Archives: Campaign 101

Tuesday Truths

thing worse than being blind

Photo credit: The Only Thing Worse Than Being Blind is Having Sight and No Vision

We’re heading into a short work week so it might be a good time to brush up on your resume, start making new goals for the new year (I’m too much of a planner) or maybe just bail out of work early to get in some holiday cocktails (is that more your speed??)? In the meantime, all you politicos looking for a new gig, you can read up!

  • Post election funk? It’s a good time as any to be reminded about an older post I wrote around this time last year (here). The day after Election Day, I put away about 8 weeks of dry cleaning that was sitting in my closet so laundry gets a lot of play post election! If you’re looking for the next opportunity and haven’t joined Democratic GAIN, then you should do so immediately. Looking to set yourself up for 2016? Then take the time to read this article from Democratic GAIN COO @lucyMWhall for Campaigns & Elections.
  • For those who are still nomadic political hacks, it’s the start of the Off Year election cycle and prepping for the crazy that is 2016. Have you ever wondered if our industry has gotten better in pay during the off years? If so, this article is just for you!
  • My friends over at the Campaign Workshop shared with me a fantastic info graphic on call time. As a person who lives and breathes call time all the time, this is really great to help those who need additional help to stay on track or just to get on track. Committing to call time is half the battle (right, fellow fundraisers?). Thanks so much to @joefuld for sharing & bringing it to my attention!
  • I remember the days when people would look at me and wonder if I was old enough to manage staff (the benefits of having good genes that make me look youthful!) and having to combat those questions by my actions. If you’re ever in want of respect and building good will then use these techniques because if you do it consistently then you would have earned it.
  • Everyone talks about will power or habits that successful people utilize or don’t participate in but how about some exercises to help improve your mental strength? @AmyMorinLCSW has a few tips to exercise the most important muscle you can ever have in life.

Alright folks, hit me up in the comments section or tweet at me @madalenemielke. If you found the articles interesting, please feel free to subscribe so that you don’t miss a post and share the post with your network! Thanks for reading!

— Madalene

Tuesday Truths

every successful woman

Sincerest apologies in my lack of communication. The last few months have been challenging with work obligations and the like but I’m back in the saddle and ready to roll!

Of course, everyone is talking about the elections. Who am I kidding??? Not everyone as evident with the lack of voter turnout but for those in the business or at the very least, the business of civic engagement, all I got is “We’ve got a problem, Houston” metaphors.

Since I have such a commitment to communities of color and especially, women of color this article has got me thinking, exercise that vote!

Recently, I did a presentation on personal branding and found a couple of videos (here & here) that may be helpful in your personal journey to make your own Beyoncé moment.

Ladies: real talk on how to progress in your career from a woman who knows how to forge ahead in a male dominated industry (basically, don’t give a f*ck)

My world revolves around always asking for things, specifically money (probably one of the most difficult things to do) but once you become comfortable with this skill, you an ask for just about anything. (For those who want to ask me for something, read the article before you ask me!!)

Life wouldn’t be fun without some truth to the fun and let me tell you, this article about the difference between celebrities and members of Congress is SPOT ON!

Photo cred: Behind Every Successful Woman is Herself

Alright, readers let me know how you’re doing, what you’re doing and how you’re getting ahead. Hit me up in the comments section or tweet at me @madalenemielke. Thanks for reading and sharing!!

Campaign Season has Officially Begun!

BGM busy getting money

I hope everyone had a great holiday season! With the start of 2014, we’ve switched the “on” button for Election 2014. Every campaign season is different and as I’ve gotten older, I fondly remember some really great moments and the enthusiasm for being on the road.

These days as a consultant, I get to stay in the comforts of my home and that makes me (momentarily) forget that life in DC isn’t certainly life beyond the Beltway. I used to spend the last 6 weeks out on the road doing GOTV because I started doing professional politics in field. One of my favorite moments was when I worked in Pittsburgh as the Deputy GOTV Director. My office was located in one of the tallest buildings in downtown in a law firm. I had an office where 3 key volunteers helped me everyday to organize the GOTV activity for all of Pittsburgh. This little secluded oasis was away from the frenzy of the main headquarters office, which was always brimming with activity. At night, the space was used for phone banking so volunteers would do phone calls. The space was so chic that they used the space for surrogate phone banking so as we were getting closer to Election Day, surrogates would file in and make calls urging people to vote. So while sitting in my office on the phone dealing with what was a crisis at the time, the Pittsburgh Director walks in my office and tries to introduce me to actor, Martin Sheen aka President Bartlett of The West Wing. I’m awkwardly looking at the phone while I see mouths moving in introduction and hello’s and thanks for all that you do while trying to handle the person on the phone and saying hello to the fictional POTUS. Classic moment.

Let the fun begin! What are your favorite campaign moments?

It’s Post Election – Time to Catch up on Sleep, Laundry, and Getting a Job (not necessarily in that order)

arum group campaign buttons

As the analysis continues on Election 2013, one of my most vivid memories of wrapping up my previous campaigns was trying to clean up the office to shut it down. It was a little more euphoric if we were the winning campaign and complete drudgery if we lost. So many things that you held near and dear during campaign season lost their value the moment it was all over…”all that data that we meticulously tracked….whoosh….into the shredder!”.

alvina 2012 CO end of election

Photo used by permission: Alvina Yeh

Now’s the time to get your life back together because for real, your life was basically on pause for however many months. Probably first and foremost: getting sleep! You’ve probably been running on adrenaline and you’re about to run out. How many people got sick after the election? I’ve been fortunate to have a strong immune system so I never fell prey to the post election sniffles but one remedy is definitely getting sleep. Maybe even plan a vacation where you can get sleep!

lets do coffee

If you’re like me and you’re a worrywart about landing your next gig, getting a job interview is probably a priority on that post election list too. I give a lot of informational interviews and I am supposed to schedule coffee hours through my role with Democratic GAIN (sorry guys, I know that I haven’t done it yet but I promise I will!). I have suffered through many coffees (which I don’t even drink!) because the person who requested the interview was ill prepared. So let me give you tip – brush up on your networking skills because now you’re the campaign. The only candidate is you because you’re looking for a job and that itself is a job. Here’s a great article on how you can make the most of your informational interviews. Every one of the tips will make a great impression.

The aforementioned Democratic GAIN is a great resource to get tips on building a stronger resume as well as learning about trainings where you can increase your value as an operative. Check them out and most importantly, JOIN!

Now go get some sleep – you deserve it!

Latinos and Asian Americans GOTV in Virginia

donkey profile

Yesterday was Election Day 2013, and the kick-off to the 2016 presidential cycle (did you watch Governor Christie’s speech?) but as we begin to armchair QB the election, let’s take a look at the numbers. A poll commissioned by America’s Voice and People for the American Way and released by Latino Decisions shows that Latinos and Asian Americans broke heavily for Democratic candidates. To see more results, check out the entire breakdown from Governor to House of Delegates.

latinos asian americans va gov race

 

 

I’m a Fundraiser but I know the Most Important Resource

We talked a little about the chaos that can be a political campaign. We also briefly touched on the resources that every campaign should have when it’s operating.

Any idea what they are??

As a fundraiser, it’s my job to organize the money that flows into the campaign as revenue. So you’ve got at least one resource!

$$

Photo credit: Pinterest

What are the others? Well, you need people aka volunteers to do the myriad of tasks that need to happen for you to accomplish all the things on your to-do list.

 

The most important resource left for last…just for pure dramatic affect…time!

Photo credit: Pinterest

Why is time the most important resource? It’s because you can never get it back and it’s finite. Elections are changing to where you have vote by mail, early vote etc so you don’t necessarily only have one election day but you do have a final day to vote. That final date is it. The most important piece of time is the candidate’s time. Using that resource wisely means wringing every minute to get $$ or to get votes. If you’re not accomplishing one of these 2 things then you’re wasting time.

You can always raise more money and you always recruit more volunteers but you can never get more time.

Hmmm…stop and ponder that one for a minute!

Sorry, this is not the “West Wing”

arum group campaign buttons

Have you ever worked on a campaign as a paid operative? Yes, can you believe that people get paid to talk on the phone and go door to door like a vacuum salesperson to shill for their candidate? In the recent decade we’ve seen enough episodes of “West Wing” to tell when there’s a bit of creative license but if you get a group of operatives in a room, you can certainly hear campaign stories that no one could ever think could be possible. For us old timers, campaigns didn’t have fax machines unless it had thermal paper and pagers were the way to get a hold of me if I was on the road. People might have confused me for a dealer but at least, my parents might have mistaken me for a doctor.

Technology has brought us so many more “friends” but people still trust in their real time friends to validate positions and as advocates. I recently had my house renovated and I’ve given out the name of my contractor to numerous people because I had a positive experience and would like for them to have a similar experience. This also applies to voting and choosing the best candidate. Birds of a feather flock together. Although I may have friends with differing public policy opinions and haven’t drunk the kool aid to the extent that I blindly follow, I think it matters when we get outside of the beltway to see what normal people think. The right messenger can do a world of good or bring on doubt of a candidate’s ability to represent their constituents.

Regardless of how big or small, campaigns can be exciting and are sometimes filled with drama but more often than not, it’s an organization trying to manage chaos around them. All. The. Time. Whether it’s internal or external forces that pull on the resources, campaigns are always about raising and spending those resources towards a common goal: Winning. That magical number is 50% +1.

The best part of campaigns? Talking to people! Getting feedback and using it to see who is for your candidate, who is not for your candidate, and who is still undecided. With only 3 resources to get it all done, how do you manage expectations to execute a campaign plan? What are those 3 resources you ask? Stay tuned to find out!

Tell us about your 1st volunteer/paid campaign experience. We want to know!