Ask the Campaign Doc: Looking for Work? Pay Your Own Way

Q: Should we pay the travel expenses of consultants that we’re interviewing to work on our campaign?
A: No way. No how. Never. If the consultant wants the work, they will happily foot the bill for the travel. And if they cannot afford to cover travel expenses—guess what, they’re nowhere near as successful as they want you to think, and, therefore, they’re not yet qualified to work on the campaign. Q: How often does the FEC update its databases and how can we get historical data not included in its databases?
A: Information taken from filed reports is generally available to the public within 48 hours of the FEC’s receipt of the report. Reports filed electronically are available on the web almost instantaneously. Historical data (generally pre-1993) is available from the FEC’s Public Records Office (1-800-424-9530 or pubrec@fec.gov), which is located at 999 E Street NW, Washington, DC, and is open to the public Monday through Friday, 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. For additional information, go to www.fec.gov. Q: Should we include cell phone users on our polls?
A: Yes, especially as the proportion of voters who rely solely or mostly on cell phones now approaches one-fifth of the electorate.
Four things to discuss with your pollster so you get it right: One, the percentage of exclusive cell users varies by demographics, especially age. Two, many cell users are younger than 18, so be sure to eliminate ineligible respondents. Three, overall response rates could be negatively affected by cell owners using caller ID to screen calls before deciding to answer; local and state laws prohibiting the use of cell phones while driving; and mid-call terminations due to distractions or poor connection quality. And four, although some fixed costs remain the same (e.g., programming the questionnaire), data processing and weighting are more complex when cell phones are added, so the per-completion cost of interviewing cell phone users could be higher. Q: Who should own material generated for direct mail fundraising, the consultant or the campaign?
A: The campaign. And at the end of the election, the consultant should return to the campaign all data, files, lists, documents, artwork, computer records and other work products. In addition, you should prohibit the consultant from using these materials in any fashion without the express written consent of the campaign or authorized representatives. Q: Our website is ready to go. We have pages and links for the candidate’s bio, issues, contact information, donations, news, video, volunteering, Facebook, Twitter and our blog. Are we missing anything?
A: Sounds great, but consider adding a privacy policy explaining that site users do not have to identify themselves or provide personal information, that e-mail addresses and other information will not be sold to third parties and that your website has security measures in place to protect against the loss, misuse or alteration of information under its control. Also include an “opt out” provision if you plan to send updates to individuals who have registered with the site. Q: Twitter—problem or opportunity?
A: It’s a bit of both. The opportunities first: It provides a sense of immediacy and helps you stay in touch with supporters, reporters and bloggers. And with Twitter’s claim of 100 million users, it would be a mistake for a campaign to ignore this communications venue and cede its advantage to your opponents. The problems: The brevity of Twitter messages (140 characters) can lead to oversimplification and exaggeration, which FactCheck.org and others have begun to scrutinize in an effort to correct false claims and misperceptions. Then there is the recent announcement by the Library of Congress that they have acquired Twitter’s entire archive of public tweets. This is surely a bonanza for opposition researchers looking for idiotic, ill-conceived and, now, forever on-the-record public statements. Craig Varoga has run local, state and presidential campaigns for 20 years and specializes in independent expenditures as a partner at Independent Strategies. Send questions using Facebook or e-mail cvaroga@independentstrategies.com.