Lessons Learned from the Election

What a whirlwind it has been over the past few months, leading up to the municipal and town elections here in Nova Scotia.

Back in January 2016, I had the great pleasure of meeting Sandra Snow at a town meeting. She lives up the street from me, so we walked home together, and thus our friendship began.

I told her I would do what I could to help her win this election. Looking at the voter demographics and seeing so few 30-40 year olds voted, I said the way to win the election is by getting my generation to care enough to vote.

I volunteered to help Sandra Snow (and Lynn Pulsifer and Cathy Maxwell) with their communications. Using everything I learned with my Public Relations degree and all my social media background, I feel I was successfully able to help put their messages out there in the public forum.

There were MANY ups and downs. And, there were MANY lessons learned.

Here are the key lessons learned. I want to remember them in case I do decide to run for local politics in the future. Maybe you will learn something, too!

Tell People Why They Should Care

You need to tell people why they should care.

We are all busy, and have families, jobs and not two minutes to ourselves, let alone time to sit down and research all the issues and platforms of all the candidates.

Point out what the key issues are, especially for your demographic, and what is being done, isn’t being done, or could be done.

Many people wrote to me saying they would have just voted for the status quo because nothing bad seemed to be happening in town, and everything looked good.

However, there is a lot happening behind the scenes, and sometimes you need to point it out and give people a reason to care and take notice.

Door to Door Canvassing Works

Kudos to all those candidates who do go door to door knocking and introducing themselves. That takes bravery. Putting yourself out there is brave. Be respectful to those who come to your door, even if you don’t agree with them.

I heard so many people say they were only voting for those who bothered to come to their door. It’s an important part of the election process!

One candidate recommended taking a pocketful of dog treats!

Signs

When you see that one candidate has so many signs out, you automatically think they are winning.

As I said to my boys, it just means they spent more money on signs!

Signs are expensive, and in the end they end up at the landfill. However, out of sight, out of mind, and you need to remind people you are running.

Signs should not be a competition. Please be respectful of others’ signs. If you are a resident and don’t agree with a certain candidate, don’t trash their signs!

Candidates, please get permission before putting up a sign on someone’s lawn. I heard many complaints about signs just appearing over night!

And, please do not purposely take a sign (or 6) and block another candidate’s sign. People can see what you are trying to do.

It’s all about respect.

In the end, it’s not about the number of signs you have out. Sandra Snow had 15 signs (plus the ones made by local artist Dennis Ramsay that people personally bought from him). Several of the candidates who had the most votes used signs strategically.

It’s the quality of your message and how you reach people.

Social Media has Power

I really think that social media defined the 2016 election. It is an easy and direct way to share information to a wide audience.

In this day and age, it is essential candidates have a Facebook page and make regular posts about their campaign.

With social media comes the possibility that people will write nasty comments on your Facebook wall. They question remains what to do with those comments.

If you delete them, you will be accused of “blocking freedom of expression”. If you respond to them, they will open up the door for further comments from people whose minds who cannot change. Lesson learned: take the high road and leave them up, and respond to any genuine questions.

Talk About What you are Going To Do Not What Others are Not

We had this conversation a lot.

The main focus should be on what you are going to do.

Focus on what you are planning to do for the community, rather than pointing out what others are not doing. Focus on yourself and your own campaign.

Negative Campaigns

No matter what you do, you will be accused of running a negative campaign.

Despite what I just said, pointing out flaws in policy and practices, or drawing attention to things that aren’t being done are sometimes necessary. But, in doing so, you will be accused of running a smear or negative campaign.

Sometimes the truth hurts.

If the media picks up a story about another candidate, you will be blamed for it. Sometimes, you just can’t win!

Your Words Are Never Your Own

I learned this the very hard way. Many times things I said got twisted and turned like a children’s game of telephone. Stories change in the telling and sometimes people want to see a certain meaning and so they see a certain meaning.

When you are a public figure, or openly giving your opinion, your words are no longer your own.

Be Careful What You Post

When you are on social media, you need to be very careful what you post. Often times people, especially those under 30 (but not exclusively) will post things without thinking about the consequences. People post things they would never say in person.

Once your post is out there, it’s out there, and you never know how people are going to use it, or remember it.

When you are going for that job interview down the road, employers DO look at your Facebook account. Make sure you say everything with integrity and stand by what you write.

Whenever I posted something, I kept thinking of someone in a nearby town whose Facebook comment from several years prior was misconstrued and it forced him to withdraw from the race.  Again, your words are never your own once they are out there.

Thick Skin

To be in politics you need to have thick skin. I know I had many things said about me, and I wasn’t even running!

People will make comments. People are passionate about ideas and their community. People will say just about anything on social media.

You can’t take it all personally, or you will never get anywhere.

That being said, the amazingly positive comments I heard far outweighed all of the negative things!

Remember, We All have to Live Together

In the end, remember, we all have to live together.

When you make negative comments about someone, remember you might have to work with them or their daughter, or live next to their mother.

It’s a small town, and no matter the election results, when it’s all said and done, we all need to work together and live together.

The real winner is the town and our community!

Read the Kentville 2016 Election Results in the Advertiser here.

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