AACFAMILY & FRIENDS
» » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » ‘What you want, Baby, I got’ Running a clean campaign on your own merits
not that exact phrase — but that message. Your message is why you’re the right person for the job, not why someone else isn’t. Running a great political campaign is like writing a great
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resume. When you’re running for elected office, the job descrip- tion pretty much tells you what the employer [the electorate] needs, doesn’t it? So your campaign needs to be the answer to that need. In other words, what they want, you got. Just like a good resume embeds keywords throughout the document — your campaign must use keywords, ideas and policies. Use these in a positive way promoting your candidacy. I believe negative campaigning is crippling our political system. Negative campaigning, known colloquially as “mud- slinging,” is trying to win an advantage by referring to negative aspects of an opponent rather than emphasizing one’s own posi- tive attributes or preferred policies. Negativity is common in political cam- paigns across our coun- try. We are bombarded with mes- sages telling
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hat You Want, Baby, I Got. Sound familiar? It should. It’s the opening line to Aretha Franklin’s iconic “Respect.” And it’s what you need to be touting when running for public office. Maybe
Seems To Me...
rural state like Arkansas, said in an interview earlier this year, “Candi- dates need to stop the name-call- ing.” His advice should be heeded in national, state, county, municipal and elections of any type. Further- more, this advice is useful for both the candidates and their supporters. Tere’s nothing wrong with “healthy” competition, with “healthy” debate. It is extremely important to want the right person for the job. Tat is what we all want — someone who has our best interests in mind, someone honest and respectful. Hey, there’s a key word for operating a clean campaign —
Eddie A. Jones County Consultant
egative campaigning prevents many good candidates from entering politics and public service and leaves us with candidates who are comfortable with conflict.
us that candidates, politicians and the government are corrupt, incompetent failures. Candidates say this about their competi- tors, and politicians say it about the opposing party. Candidates seeking elected office for the first time almost universally justify their own election by saying the existing government is broken and that change is needed. Just because negative campaigning is common does not make it right. Negative campaigning prevents many good candidates from entering politics and public service and leaves us with candi- dates who are comfortable with conflict. Government becomes populated with people who are primed for conflict, which causes deadlock and paralysis, making the government less able to do the work of the people. Tis, in turn, leads to less sup- port by the public, more negative campaigning and fewer good candidates. It is a destructive spiral. It was not long ago that this scenario was attached only to na- tional government. But, unfortunately, it has filtered downward and has affected all levels of government — even local govern- ment. David Letterman, commenting on the “ugly” campaign that I’ve been describing said, “You look at some of these races around the country, and you think it’s just a shame somebody has to win.” U.S. Congressman David McKinley of West Virginia, a small
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“respectful.” It is absolutely important, especially in a local campaign. Always keep in mind that the opposition are people too. Tey have children and grand- children, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, along with many other friends and relatives. Keep that in
mind before you begin to blast your opponent in public, per- haps unknowingly in the presence of his or her family. Choose to be respectful before typing a rumor-filled rant on social me- dia. When the election is over, they will still be our neighbors. Tere is no good reason to be ugly in a campaign and cause a lot of hard feelings among friends and neighbors in our Arkansas counties.
I had 14 campaigns for county constitutional office. Many of those were uncontested because I made sure I took care of my “local politics” on a daily basis year round. I did that by having an open-door policy to everyone regardless; I was very active in the community and community activities; I did not bad mouth people; and I strove for excellence in the operation of the people’s office to which I had been granted the privilege to serve. [It was not my office.] But there were times that I did have an opponent. My ex- ample will be my 1986 race in which I had an opponent from an old established farm family of the county. Some believed I was vulnerable that year because I had just gone through a divorce the previous year. [Not something I’m proud of or brag about, I’m just telling the truth — the facts.] My divorce — my failings — were used against me in the campaign. Some things said were true; others were fabrications.
COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2016
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