My husband is managing a campaign. I asked him is your candidate on any of the ballots? He responded, "I never did that with you and I won't do that with him. If he gets endorsements, that's good. If they place him on the ballot because they believe in his ability to serve, that's good. But, I am not paying to be on a ballot. I refused to feed that gorilla because it's out of hand." Ronnie is such a good campaign manager because he keeps it real!!
He is also right. Paying to be on a ballot is out of hand. We must be like Nancy Reagan, and "Just say, No." That's the only way to stop the madness.
Then, there are the commercials. Today, it is not enough to talk about what your candidate offers or draw out valid differences between candidates. Now, the commercials are lacking integrity and truth and for me that's a reflection of the candidate's character or lack thereof. Commercials have resorted to low down name calling. What's sad is there is no media outlet that holds these candidates accountable for the statements they make. A candidate should not allow anyone to say anything about an opponent without verifying the facts. Plus, if you can't sell yourself without tearing down someone else, something is lacking in your candidacy. I respectfully suggest that you need to address that issue. Alright? Yeah!
My Dad taught me, "Your name is your bond, your creed, your calling card. Let it stand for something." He would have been a good Marketing PR 101 College Teacher, but he only had an 8th grade education. When he died, he owned five lucrative businesses in Arkansas --Pool Hall, Barber Shop, Cafe, Night Club and a Highway Motel (across the street from the night club). Notice how all of them supported each other. Today, they call that "branding".
I define my brand, and I won't allow anyone else's idea of what they think I should be redefine who I am. So, candidates, before you get out there running for office, know yourself. Know your limits and how you want to be defined. Because some of your supporters can hurt your brand or as my Dad would say, your name with their nonsense.
I encourage all my readers to get out and vote.
- Look at the candidate.
- Look at their skills, experience and public service record of the candidate. Do they match the with the job they are seeking? Make sure those skills can handle the jobs you are voting to fill.You are the employer this time.
- Look at the cast of characters.
- It should help you decide if you are choosing more drama or leaders with solutions. The cast of characters that support the candidate are like references. Is this a reference you trust?
- Look at the candidate's ability to work with people and systems.
- Can this candidate bring people together to make things happen? Or is this candidate like or Kenya, on the Housewives of Atlanta, with a bullhorn making noise and creating chaos.
Here is another bit of advice -- stagnation is not growth.(A lesson from my Mom. I will share it soon.) Shelby needs to grow. We need leadership that can help us grow. If our elected officials are just maintaining status-quo, and if we can't see growth in things we care about -- unemployment, quality of health care in the county, adequate funding of education, increasing the tax base, improvement in public safety-- we may need to reassess our leadership.
Voting and Campaigning does not have to be ugly. Dismiss those who do that. Let them hear your roar about this style of campaigning by voting. See you at the polls.
