Note: The following information can also be applied to provincial elections and will be integrated in an upcoming pamphlet on how to run a provincial election campaign as a Freedom Party candidate.

In this, our final installment on running a municipal campaign, we will be discussing [1] lawn signs, [2] pamphlet design and distribution, and [3] campaign budgets.

In a municipal campaign, you really only need one size sign: the standard 22"x28", with one or two colours silk-screened on hard cardboard. When printed, it actually measures 44 & three-quarters inches by 28 inches, since two signs per cardboard are printed for folding over, with a three-quarter inch fold over the wooden stake.

If you expect to have 100-175 supporters with your sign on their lawns during the course of the campaign, you should have 500 signs printed. Signs generally last between five-ten days, and each lawn will need its sign replaced an average of three to four times over the period of a campaign.( Kids love kicking them down, signs weaken after repeated rainfall, etc.)

Five hundred signs (one colour on white) will cost about $933, or with two colour on white, about $1,300. Of course, the cost per sign will drop with increased volume and will rise with a smaller order. In addition, 500 wooden stakes (one per sign; 30"x2"x3.") will cost about $140.

Over the past ten years, polystyrene (plastic) signs have become popular because they are far more weather resistant and last about twice as long as the hard cardboard. Printed on both sides (one colour), they cost about $2,200 per 250 and require two wooden stakes at both ends and a staple gun to fasten the signs to the wood. Two colours on white would increase the cost to about $2,340. Incidentally, the face of these plastic signs are 2' x 4', twice the face of the cardboard signs. Plastic signs can all be saved for the next election too, even after they have went through one campaign.

Avoid using photographic images on large areas of white space, the images will bleed through when direct sunlight shines on them. Use a greater proportion of colour, leaving white for secondary or trim space. Printing on only one side of polystyrene is only slightly cheaper than printing on both sides so consideration of one-side only is impractical.

Without doubt, the pamphlet represents your major appeal for votes and support from the public.

For the average municipal campaign (if running for alderman), you'll need anywhere from 10,000 to 30,000 pieces of literature. Rule of thumb is to take the population of your ward (stats available at City Hall), divide by 2.5, and you'll find the number of residences that will require a pamphlet.

Unlike Freedom Party provincial election material, which also serves as a solicitation for membership, support, involvement, etc., your municipal election pamphlet must emphasize (1) that you are a seriously committed member of that community, (2) that you have worked for the community in various ways in the past, (3) that you are different from the incumbents and your other opponents, and (4) that you are a 'stable' person, with family, home, firm job, etc.

Get a professional advertising agency to produce your pamphlet. The photographs you use should halftone perfectly: no dark patches in your hair or clothing, no shadows under the eyes from eyeglasses, one side of the face cannot be darker than the other, no facial blemishes, partial mustaches or sideburns, etc. You should look visually perfect in the photographs, using whatever professional means necessary. Have the photos taken well in advance so they can be redone if found to be unsuitable the first time around.

Assuming that the pamphlet is 8.5x11, folded and printed on both sides, the main front-page photo should be of you (the candidate) --- hair perfectly arranged, formally dressed, perhaps at a desk with a tidy amount of business-like work at your fingertips. Behind you should be a bookshelf of relevant books on government, history, municipalities, etc. Try to have a phone visible on your desk. (It means that you're accessible.) Have a serious but approachable look. Smile.

Inside the pamphlet, you should have photos of yourself with your family and/or photos of yourself at a controversial site in your neighbourhood or at a meeting at City Hall where you raised concerns of your constituents --- in other words, you in action. Schools, chemical dumps, seniors' homes, etc., are always good photo copy when it relates to a large issue in your ward.

Another good visual is having a photo-collage of all published newspaper articles (headlines) on your activity in the community, similar to the cover of our newsletter, the Freedom Flyer.

Text:

As a challenger, you should attack the status quo at City Hall and emphasize the new, positive direction you wish the city government to go in (i.e., the maintenance of 'essential' services only --- no frills). Stress the human side of your politics, your committment to area voluntarism (senior citizens, sports, youth, etc.).

Remember, as a Freedom Party member, you believe that the only legitimate function of government at the municipal level is to provide 'hard' services. These would include sidewalk and road maintenance, garbage pick-up, fire and police services, etc. Emphasize your committment to improving the efficiency of these services and specify where work needs to be done and how it isn't being done because of wasteful spending (especially where your opponents have sanctioned it). Use the opportunity to condemn their policies.

Don't deliberately adopt any unpopular stands in your literature. If you think that it's necessary to do this, write a letter to the editor and don't run for municipal office. Only someone with a long and tried reputation for working within the community can get away with one or two correct but unpopular positions in their election literature and still win an election.

Emphasize the positive in your literature --- do the unpopular after you're elected. If constituents want frank, honest answers to various questions, give them at their front door when you're campaigning. It's unlikely that they will so don't invite political suicide by telling them something that could alienate them from supporting you.

(You might ask, then, why run for office if you have to hide the 'truth'? --- pure self-interest. If you want to live in a freer society, whether the rest of the world (or city, or ward) is ready for it or not, then you should try to get elected so you can make a difference and satisfy your own conscience and provide yourself with more freedom than you had before you were elected to office. You're not misleading anyone when you select only the more palatable issues to put in your literature. If people want to know where you stand on all 6,000 issues, let them invite you over to their home for dinner.)

Another way of winning voters is to have endorsements throughout your literature by influential people in your area: 'I have known Fred M. Partie through his work with the sports league and I've found him to be alert, dedicated, and the best man to keep our parks maintained.' Endorsements like this are invaluable in convincing casual voters.

The use of an additional colour on the front and back of your pamphlet is very effective if you can afford it. (See budget.)

Distribution:

It is always best to deliver literature to areas of descending importance: single-family residences first, senior citizens' homes next, then high-rises, etc. Experience has shown that the percentage of voters who turn out from subsidized housing areas only averages between three and twelve per cent.

I personally recommend a 'two-tiered' delivery strategy: the initial and major pamphlet delivered 15-20 days before the election, and the second, harder hitting, but much shorter piece about 3-7 days before the election. Using this strategy, the second delivery should be targetted at the undecided and the indifferent voter. It should be 'punchy' and combative --- give them a reason to get out and vote, but always maintain your professional appearance.

When you go to an advertising agency, outline your strengths, your activity, etc., as discussed above. Be prepared to spend between $250 - $500 on a professional-looking job. It'll be worth it.

The cost of printing 15,000 8.5x11 folded pamphlets, printed in black and white (and greys), halftones (and metal plates for printing), and with one extra colour throughout is about $684. Each additional thousand costs about $45, plus $4 for every extra thousand folded. Paper is 20 lb. white.

Incidentally, your public library will have much of the literature used by candidates (local clippings in your civic room) in the previous municipal election. When using their files (ask at the information desk), check the styles, colours and techniques used by the various candidates. Pay particular attention to the literature of the challengers who beat incumbents --- it was probably effective. Compare the literature of the candidates who did well with both unorthodox styles and those who used traditional styles.

All the prices I've used throughout my article were from London-area quotes, and included all applicable (usually federal and provincial) taxes. The key to your peace of mind during a campaign is to have a realistic appraisal of your costs, options, etc., well before your campaign begins. Having this prepared up to a year in advance would be best, so you can earn or raise enough money to cover the campaign.

Basic and Essential Costs:

Party for volunteers after election $150

Total minimum expenditures: $2,217
Total maximum expenditures: $5,372

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Page last updated on April 28, 2002