It seems like we just put the presidential election behind us, and yet, there are already more elections to think about in terms of gun rights. Most political observers are already looking to 2014. However, Pennsylvania gun owners should be looking to this year’s municipal elections against mayors who have been lobbying Washington, DC officials in support of a ban on semi-automatic rifles and more via Bloomberg’s MAIG.
Many of the mayoral races are unchallenged, but others are closer than you would expect. Penndel’s 2009 mayoral race was decided by just 68 votes. Those in Pennsylvania might think that since Penndel is a pretty tiny borough, that seems like a pretty big margin. However, it doesn’t take into account significantly decreased turnouts in these off-year elections. Fewer than 26% of registered voters in the county actually cast a ballot in local races that year.
In the next county over, the contest for Pottstown mayor was decided by just 2 percentage points – even as write-in candidates took 5 points in the race. Somewhat farther north, the mayor of Roseto was elected by only 53 votes. Out in the western part of the state, Ingram’s anti-gun advocate mayor won his last election by just 9 votes.
If you want to help weaken Bloomberg’s anti-gun alliance, then this is a great way to start. Find out about your own races and get involved in the races around you if you can. Think about the race decided by 9 votes – you could help reach that many voters in one hour on a Saturday afternoon.
Another factor is that in a small, local race, usually big money is not being thrown around, so if you were to spend maybe $100 on copy machine flyers, and a Saturday afternoon distributing them, you could have a profound effect. And, if what you do is unexpected, you can often get the pols upset out of all proportion to what you’ve actually done. (They prefer to always be in control.)
A budget of half of that could probably do lots of damage. I would also encourage people to not necessarily make any general outreach all about guns. Tap into any discontent over local issues that might motivate people to vote for change or get out and vote in the first place.
Yes! I didn’t want to go too far with my suggestion, but, as with anything, it helps a lot to know what you are doing. Mainly, as Bitter said, don’t go out campaigning on an issue that few locally are going to care much about, and don’t use memes that are easily identified as partisan talking-points, and so will be dismissed out of hand by people in the opposing party. However, if you target a candidate because they are anti-gun, using “other” issues, be sure to let them know somehow why you went after them. It can be a judgement call.
Also. find a source to learn something about working the polls on election day. I’ve done it a lot in years past, but what I know about it can probably be summed up in one sentence. I did OK, I think, but I’ve known people who were gifted at it, and could change people’s minds on the spot. I can’t swear my presence ever made a difference.
I will vouch for using the other issues. Our state rep knows why we vote for him. He knows why I help him. Yet I’ve helped him with lit drops on neighborhoods with lots of kids on local school issues. I don’t care why those people might vote for him. I just care that they do it.
In this case with mayors, the only message needs to be that you want them to stay out of gun issues. Don’t join MAIG & lobby for federal gun control, and don’t promote resolutions and regulations that violate preemption or seek to weaken it. I don’t really care about their opinions beyond that for purposes of getting these folks who are on the record supporting a gun ban out of the offices.
Many of Bloomberg’s mayors are now convicted felons, and people should be broadcasting that far and wide:
List of Illegal Mayors on Wikipedia
[Edited by Bitter to fix the link to make it so that it doesn’t screw up other comments.]
Really? I’ve totally never ever heard that before. (Sorry for the heavy sarcasm, but I have been posting about MAIG for years. It’s kind of a pet issue.)
Concerned Gun Owners of Bucks County is having a pro 2nd-A rally in front of the courthouse in Doylestown on Saturday from 11-noon. I plan on attending and see it as a great opportunity to encourage people to support the NRA, but also to bring a highlighted list of mayors in our county who are MAIG members and what that means. Even Mayor Libby White of Doylestown is on that list, for shame. I think it’s a worthwhile goal to get Bucks County to become a “MAIG free zone”. ;)
Good luck, and send us some pictures if you attend. Unfortunately, I’ll be busy working tables at a gun show to get people contacting their lawmakers.
I am currently trying to find out about possible candidates running against the Bucks MAIG mayors. I haven’t heard back yet.
If I can make a suggestion, forget about pitching for the NRA. Most of the people you encounter who will be on your side already know about them and where to find them. On the other hand, anyone who might be on the fence as far as the gun rights issue goes, may also have bought into the line that the NRA are just corporate shills, and dismiss you and your efforts as being nothing but part of the same thing. Try to give an impression of being self-motivating citizens, not part of a monolith called “the gun lobby.”
Not a problem. I’ll get you some pics and will try to get some rough counts on attendance, while I’m at it. Anything else helpful while I’m there?
You keep working in the lower end and I’ll keep to the Central and Upper Bucks areas, just don’t expect me to give you any hazard duty pay! ;)
How bout a good candidate to run against Ed Pawlowski here in Allentown. This guys a joke, but no one can afford to run against him.
This is just brainstorming, but if there really is no one running against him — and you don’t want to, by going to the opposing party and offering yourself — look up current PA election law to find out how many write-in votes you (or someone) would need in the primary election to get on the ballot in the opposing party. You may be surprised at how few are needed. I have known people who were working the polls, and on the spot decided to run a write-in campaign, at that one polling place, to get on the ballot, because for something like municipal council or supervisor, it can be as few as ten votes. No one else was attempting it, so they won, and eventually were elected.
At very least, causing them to spend some money campaigning, when they thought they wouldn’t have to spend any, gets their attention.