Im working on a campaign in Maryland's 6th District.

[nickshepDEM]

(as an add on to my previous thread regarding campaign contributions)
House of Delegates District 6

Obviously, my candidate is a Democrat. He faces a battle against 3 entrenched incumbents. He's running because, as he would say, "He's disappointed with the district's represenation and its time for change in Annapolis."


Incumbent # 1 (Sonny Minnick) - has been in the house of delegates since the early 80's, he's well funded, and well liked, but there is still a decent chance of knocking him off.

Incumebt # 2 (Michael Weir Jr) - was elected for the first time in 2002, but his dad served in the house of delegates for several terms. He has solid name id. He, too, is well funded.

Incumbent # 3 (Johnny Olszewski Jr) - recently was appointed to fill a vacant seat in the house of delegates (John Arnick passed away). He's very young and very controversial. Most believe he was appointed solely because his father is a powerful county councilman (Johnny Olszewski Sr). He's by far the most vulnerable of all of the incumbents.

My candidate (Ron Schaeffer) - Has a very stellar resume. BA from Towson, MA in Recreations and Parks, JD from the University of Baltimore. Has a private law practice in the area that has been around for 15 years. Worked for the recreations and parks for 20 or so years. Coached numerous sports at the high school level. Served on the board of a local catholic private school.

p.s. There are a total of 8 candidates running in the dem primary. Each voter can select 3.

Our main problem is name id and cash. We have around $10,000 or so in the bank. But the 3 incumbents have formed a PAC and currently have well over $100,000.

Any ideas on what we can do to get our candidate out there and increase his name id?

*Obviously sign waving and lit drops are a must.
*We've already booked spots in all of the local papers.

*We're looking into direct mail.
*We're also looking into billboards.

Im also trying to figure out some way to download/buy/obtain an email directory that contains the emails of various people throughout the county and district.

Any other ideas?

[ray of light]

1. personal touch is best. Visit a lot of businesses. Talk to waitresses

and sales staff. Just try to make connections with people and carry voter registration cards with you.

[goclark]

2. My cousin, Stu Simms, is running for Attorney General of Maryland

He is, of course , a DEMOCRAT. :)


Good luck on your campaigning.

[nickshepDEM]

3. Im totally undecided in the race for Attorney General.

I sorta' met Stu at the Dundalk 4th of the July parade. He was incredibly nice and down to earth. It was extremely hot that day, but he cracked a pretty funny joke the made us all feel a little cooler.

At the same time I really like Doug Gansler.

Tom Perez is ok, but for some reason, he hasnt inspired me too much.

Right now I lean towards Gansler, w/ Stimms a close second. Plenty of time to sway me though.

[goclark]

4. With Stu Simms, what you see is what you get times 100

He is a real FAMILY and COMMUNITY person.

He believes in JUSTICE for ALL people, a truly dedicated lawyer.

In addition to that, he is extremely smart and HONEST ~ after this current Administration, SMART and HONEST count a lot IMO.

Please visit his website and thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts.

http://www.stusimms2006.com/meet.html


goclark :thumbsup:

[JNelson6563]

5. Get him on the doors.

I've got my candidate working the doors and he's hit thousands of voters this way. We're also doing house parties in many different neighborhoods. These are great for discussion with candidate, recruiting volunteers and raising money.

We're sending a mailing to every Absentee voter and timing it so they get it a day or two before they get their ballot. Our county party has a postage permit that saves us buckets of money on large mailings. Look into borrowing one, it's perfectly legal for a permit holder to lend it to another.

Of course we're also doing lawn signs as well as some larger signs.

We have saved a lot of money by providing artwork to printer for signs etc. Also, when sending out mailings supporters have donated use of office equipment that has reduced the cost of producing the mailing to paper, envelopes and labels.

Good luck! It's a lot of work and one's resourcefulness will be stretched but it is exciting stuff.

:toast:

Julie

P.S. Feel free to PM me if you'd like more info on the stuff we're doing for our candidate. I think these races at state level are very important.