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Local California Association Raises Its Political Profile
When activists in San Luis Obispo County, California, put a slew of anti-growth initiatives on the 2000 ballot, the Home Builders Association of the Central Coast rallied its members to defeat the measure. Although the association was successful, the cost and time it took fighting the proposal led the association to look for easier ways to prevent similar measures from ever making it to the ballot. In response, they hired a government affairs director, revived the association's political action committee and helped get pro-building candidates elected to public office.
A Three-Pronged Strategy
The association's political staff person, Jerry Bunin, outlined a three-part plan for getting candidates elected. “The key is to find candidates,” he said. “Once you've done that, you can help them with information and give them a boost financially.”
He said people attending a lot of government meetings and writing insightful letters to the editor can be good prospects for public office because they know and care about relevant issues and have the time in their schedules to address them.
One of the association’s top prospects for San Luis Obispo’s mayoral race was Dave Romero, a retired city employee serving on the City Council. Romero had run for the mayor’s seat before and lost by a narrow margin. Another top prospect was Paul Brown, a small business owner and local activist seeking a spot on the council.
Association Offers Campaign School
In addition to identifying Romero, Brown and other viable candidates, the association brought in political experts from NAHB to run a Campaign School tailored especially to the local office seekers.
The two-day Campaign School devotes day one to group sessions on budgeting, fundraising, voter targeting, survey research and voter contact. Day two is set aside for individual sessions where candidates work on specific campaign elements, such as designing direct mail pieces or finding voter lists.
Bunin said the lessons provided in the Campaign School were extremely useful to the local candidates. In small local races where incumbents have an easy advantage in name recognition, those lessons can make the difference between winning and losing.
Election Day Success
The association’s strategy proved successful on November 5, 2002.
Dave Romero made housing a focal point of his campaign and won San Luis Obispo’s mayoral race. Central Coast executive officer Jennifer Phillip, who teams with Bunin on the association’s political efforts, believes the Campaign School is what made the difference between Romero’s unsuccessful run for mayor and his successful one. In a near victory, political novice Paul Brown came close to defeating a 20-year incumbent for a city council seat.
The Home Builders Association of the Central Coast plans to build on its success in 2002 by raising the profile of its political action committee, continuing to identify solid candidates, and offering additional Campaign Schools.
For more information on the associations political activities, contact Jerry Bunin at 805-546-0226. To learn more about NAHB’s Campaign School, talk to Alastair Macaulay at 800-368-5242, x8584.
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