Discovering a typo in your campaign materials is bad enough, but there is a special penalty for those who want to be in charge of educating our children. The candidate statement is one of those items that should be looked over and over again for mistakes and correct grammar–especially since it’s usually the first thing… Continue Reading
Category Archives: News
“World of Warcraft” Candidate and Battling Candidate Quirks
This past week, much has been made of the “World of Warcraft” candidate, Colleen Lachowicz, who is being being criticized by her opponent and the Maine Republican Party for her unorthodox (for a candidate) interest. In addition to sending out hit pieces (below), the state party has even developed a website to document and mock her… Continue Reading
In Many Local Races, Going Negative Isn’t Acceptable
One of the major things that differentiates non-partisan local races from partisan elections is the tenor of the campaign and that they are largely more positive in tone. Some of this can be attributed to lack of funds available for non-partisan races (you have money for 2-3 mailers, you really want to devote one whole… Continue Reading
Virginia Politician James Halfaday Sentenced to More than Half a Day for Election Fraud
This post is not just an excuse for a brilliant pun-filled headline, but also a cautionary tale for ambitious up-and-coming politicians. For lying about his residence in order to run for office, Charlottesville City Council candidate James Halfaday was sentenced to 60 DAYS IN JAIL. That’s not even the most intriguing part, as website The… Continue Reading
Candidate Runs Headlong Into His Own Election Controversy
In mid-November 2011, the Mayor of West Valley City, Utah was discovered to have been submitting letters to the Deseret News and other media outlets that got published. Mayor Mike Winder was discovered to be the fictional “Richard Burwash”, and the Mayor left his job as a PR professional, and is now involved in a… Continue Reading
Senate or Senate? Woman Mistakenly Files for Wrong Office
The lesson from this story is that it counts to double check the forms you file for your candidacy, and probably not a bad idea to have one or two people close to you go over it as well. A woman from Minnesota ended up in the wrong office because she mistakenly filed to run… Continue Reading
“Why Vote?” – 9 Elections THIS YEAR That Were Decided by One Vote or Less.
Everyone obviously knows about how close an election can get via the 2000 election’s Bush v. Gore drama, but that kind of thing happens all the time in local elections–and can be even closer. That’s why for many elections across the country, the argument that “my vote won’t count” doesn’t hold much water. The examples… Continue Reading
Today in Dumb Things Candidates Can Do News
In New Jersey, the Mayor of the smallish town of West New York was arrested along with his son for allegedly hacking into the email accounts and website of his opponents’ who are trying to recall him. From NJ.com: West New York Mayor Felix Roque was arrested this morning by the FBI on charges of… Continue Reading
What’s Worse? Registered Sex Offender or Convicted Murderer Elected to Office?
A little while back, we reported on the case of Gary Hulsey, the local two term Councilmember in Washington State who had also incidentally been convicted of murdering his wife decades ago. Now comes the story of Skellytown, Texas, who just this past week, elected a registered sex offender to sit on their City Council.… Continue Reading