Why you should build your political profile in non-partisan elections.

The turbulent waters of campaigning.

Let's say you want to run for office.

Why?

Really, why do you want to run for elective office?

Is there a wrong you see that needs to be righted?  Is there an incumbent that wants to retire and you would be the right fit?  Did someone say they think you would be good a fit and that the party (or person) will help you get elected.

The only good reason to run is the first choice - there is a wrong that needs to be righted.  The other two choices to run is because of some other persons desire, not your own.  The only way that you can be an effective, trans formative, leader means that you need to take control of your political identity from the beginning.

The best way to shape your own political identity starts with finding a local, non-partisan, race you can run in.  Races like school boards, municipal leaders, and judicial races tend to be non-partisan.  These type of non-partisan campaigns can focus on the current issues, and not be controlled by local parties who want to impress their national supporters.  The lack of party control helps you craft a public conversation built from your own ideas.

If we assume that you win your non-partisan race, there now exists a solid public record of your beliefs.  You have created a political brand without influence from the outside.  In addition to the ownership of your political brand, you have also created invested voters. People now exist that are comfortable voting for you, regardless of party (mostly, there will always be partisans who will reject you because of party). Be a good steward of their votes, and the public will become more supportive of any future candidacy.

Do you want to create a voter base?  The best place to start is your local non-partisan elections.  Once you you have people comfortable putting the check mark by your name, then you can work on the difficulty of unseating an established partisan office holder.

RD Kulik

RD Kulik is the creator and Head Editor for Seed Sing.  We want to help you get elected, contact seedsing.rdk@gmail.com for more information on starting a political brand. 

Coffee and Money: How to start building your campaign finances.

First time political candidates usually experience high anxiety about raising the needed money for their campaign.  The current accepted practices for fundraising include hiring fundraising specialists, cold calling a party donor list, and soliciting support from politically connected organizations.  Many of these practices cost money (you need money) and take up valuable time. People who tend to run for local office have full-time careers, and very little fundraising experience.  There have been many future leaders who have decided against running for office because they do not want to deal with rigors of campaign fundraising.

Campaign money is second only to actual votes as a resource in winning elective office.  Having the funds on hand to run a professional, and winning, campaign should be the main concern for the potential candidate.  Having  a Candidate Coffee can help lift the stress of fundraising, get the candidate excited about running for office, and bring in needed funds.

The first step is have the candidate think of 10 people they know who would be willing to give them money for their campaign.  Have the candidate invite these ten people to a their home (or one of the friends homes) for some conversation and coffee.  Make it clear to the guests that the candidate will be talking about their upcoming campaign.  During the event (hopefully you are serving coffee and some snacks) have the candidate give a very informal, non-scripted, talk on why they are running for office.  Do not talk about national politics, or political party platforms.  Have the candidate talk about why they are running for office and what they want to do when they win.  The final part of the candidates talk should be an appeal for support from the people in the room.  This appeal should include a suggestion that all the guests set up similar coffees.  Once the candidate has attended a handful of Candidate Coffees, there should be a healthy cash reserve built up in their campaign coffer.

The concept of the Candidate Coffee is to allow the candidate a forum to discuss why they want to run for office.  The desire to serve is what is important, not the desire to raise money.  The candidate sees the ease of bringing in funds, just by telling people why they wanted to run in the first place.  The Candidate Coffee can also help create a winning message that can be used during the election season.  Think of the gathering as an outreach workshop.  The coffees can act as the launching pad for creating a local message in the candidates own voice. Many local races are lost because one of the campaigns wanted to focus on the national party's issues, do not let a candidate get lost in ideas that matter little to the local non-partisan voter.

Running for office should be an empowering journey.  Do not allow the pressure of fundraising to derail a candidates enthusiasm before you even start voter outreach.

RD Kulik

RD Kulik is the creator and Head Editor for Seed Sing.  Contact us (seedsing.rdk@gmail.com) to set up a candidate or issue profile. Let Seed Sing help you start building resources for your campaign.

Let us help you get elected

Seed Sing exists as a portal for regular people to express their ideas and opinions.  The New Way Forward is the tip of the spear that will help us take back and improve our society.  Right now the political process is controlled by out of touch local parties, big moneyed interests, and a lazy corporate media. We want to change that. 

I was listening to an interview of humorist Dave Barry by the Cracked podcast (http://www.cracked.com/podcast/dave-barry-why-russia-florida-are-so-weird/), where Dave Barry said that elections are funny because the candidates assume we are incredibly stupid (I am paraphrasing, listen to the podcast to get the more nuanced explanation).  He is correct.  I want to give the electorate their intelligence back.

The New Way Forward is Seed Sing's way of giving the newest (and most inexperienced) future leaders a chance to get a leg up in the broken electoral process.  Here at Seed Sing we want to allow you the ability to connect to others,  gain their support, help you fund raise, and give you valuable professional assistance to run a winning campaign.  SeedSing will give you:

1. A free place to create a candidate profile on seedsing.com
2. A way to allow potential supporters from all over the world to send you needed funds to assist in your campaign.
3. Over twenty years of local electoral experience to help craft a professional, modern campaign.

A primary goal of Seed Sing is to help reform our electoral process, and in the future reshape our actual government.  We will post helpful tips and look to support any future leader who wants to leave behind the antiquated political ways.  We are looking for the leaders of the 21st century.  

Contact seedsingrdk@gmail.com to create your profile and be on your way to a winning, modern campaign.

RD Kulik

Head Editor

The New Way Forward

The plan to take our society back begins with the New Way Forward.  To be continued...