Seizing Opportunity
Acknowledge a problem and own it
When journalists and pundits started making Joe Biden’s age a campaign issue late in 2023, I created this bumper sticker in response. (This was not an official campaign product.)
The message is now a reminder that real leaders put people and country before self.
A picture of vigor
Octogenarian Dan Pearl was a fixture in Sunrise, Florida politics. But after yet another hospital stay, Dan appeared too old and frail get reelected – a major problem when he decided to run for mayor.
Coaching and a little make-up yielded a photo that invigorated the candidate and his supporters, both of which contributed to an election night celebration.
Mike who?
In October 1987, Mike Dukakis arrived at Miami’s Fountain Blue hotel for Florida’s Democratic Party convention as jone of the Democrats’ Seven Dwarfs running for President, one with a funny sounding name and overshadowed by several other candidates with momentum in the state.
Over the next three days, Dukakis dominated the attention of 1300 delegates and the media with messaging and events that dominated delegates’ attention by spotlighting Mike Dukakis, overwhelming the other candidates and their organizations.
The Miami Herald summed up the convention outcome under the headline, “Duwhosit? Duwhatsit? I’m with that guy from Boston.” Mike Dukakis went on to win Florida’s Predidential Primary and become the Party’s nominee.
Leverage your weakness
When people in Hollywood, Florida said Ken Gottlieb was too young at 27 to be on the city council, this old photo of him playing in the sand as a toddler on Hollywood beach turned his youth into a positive, endearing him with Hollywood’s largely senior-aged electorate which rewarded him with a convincing victory in the five-candidate race.
Size doesn’t matter
When a former county budget director challenged Broward County School Board incumbent Toni Siskin’s reelection, how the school district managed its massive budget became an issue. Likeable and hard working, Siskin would be at a serious disadvantage debating budget specifics with someone fluent in accounting.
Siskin changed the subject, deflecting her opponent’s focus on the the budget’s size by remindering voters that, “it’s not about the size of the budget, it’s about how and where the money is spent.” Her message reassured her wavering contributors, resonated with parents, and led to her convincing victory.
Use what you have to tell your story
Ron Cochran only agreed to be a candidate for Broward County Sheriff to repair damage done to the department by its previous sheriff. Campaigning wasn’t Cochran’s strong suit. The challenge was how to convey Ron’s solid experience to the voters. Futile attempts to pry something boastworthy out of this modest career police officer ended with one final question:“Well, Ron, since you won’t brag, what do you have?” He had his old badges.
This tri-fold mailer secured wins in both the Primary and General elections.
Show ‘em why voting matters
Pattii Webster wanted a seat on the Broward Drainage District to protect the county’s drinking water supply but faced deep-pocketed opposition. Developers, wanting to keep draining land to build more houses, were funding a pro-growth candidate.
Able to afford only one mailing, this last-minute postcard showed voters why this little-known drainage district election mattered, and she won.
Show them the money
The vanquished old-guard saw an opportunity to oust incumbents by attacking them when the Sunrise City Council approved pay raises for city employees, including their own pay. The charge resonated with voters accustomed to the excesses and corruption in previous city administrations.
A large candidate forum days before the election provided an opportunity to demonstrate the facts. The incumbents reach eached into their pocket and pulled out $17, showing voters how much their council pay had risen. The attack fizzled and all the incumbents were reelected.
Action speaks louder than words
Eric Reeves was a responsive city council member who routinely attended neighborhood meetings and worked hard to resolve his constituent’s concerns. But when it became known he frequently missed the council’s work sessions, his reelection was in jeopardy.
Eric responded by using the negative to his advantage, saying, ”I’d rather work to fix problems than sit around talking about them”, and pointed out specific successes. He easily won a second term.
Friends in high places
With almost every candidate in Florida promising to protect the environment, incumbent State Rep. and House Majority Leader Anne Mackenzie wanted to underscore her commitment and make it stand out, so she highlighted it visually in this mailer.
Make it simple
The race for an open seat on the Dallas Independent School District had quickly become a figurative Tower of Babel, with six candidates vying to make their campaign about some specific issue of policy minutia.
To break through, a seventh candidate, Lois Parrott, made the voters one simple promise: “to make our schools safe and effective places where teachers can teach and children can learn.”
Despite being outspent, Lois defeated all six opponents.