Don't worry, You can trust me with the city budget, just let me in there. Come on, just let me have the budget. I will totally not gut the police budget to build a centralized mass transit network and new libraries. I will definitely not do that, just let me in there please. Come on let me have access to the city budget for 5 minutes. That's all I ask.
Hey, you know what you, the average Tumblr user reading this can do? Run for office! City council can be surprisingly easy to run for in smaller cities, specifically if your city has matching funds!
1) If your city does not have matching funds, be aware a lot of your time will be spent fundraising. Yes, a lot. Like 70%. Yes it sucks but it's a great way to talk to constituents AND raise the money for outreach. You should be spending at least 4 hours a day on it, including weekends. I recommend two 3 hour shifts a day.
Also I highly recommend getting a call time manager or having a campaign manager who will help you with your calls. I know it sucks but if you can't ask strangers for money you're going to have a hard time going up against Bob who wants to bulldoze the library and replace it with a corporate office. It's also good practice.
2) The rest of your time needs to be spent canvassing and getting out the vote. If you cannot do this yourself you need to have people who can represent you, like close friends or relatives.
3) Yard signs are nice but they don't help candidates in every area. Make sure they're in areas of high visibility but don't waste your money on too many. Mailers and pamphlets distributed by volunteers and canvassers are WAY more effective
4) Volunteers are the lifeblood of any campaign. Make sure you have a good tool for tracking and recruiting.
5) Look for local and national orgs that support candidates with similar views! Examples are Emily's List, Working Families Party etc.
If anyone actually wants more advice my inbox is open!
I believe in you <3
