a town of just over 23,000 people who was a complete unknown in town and the good old boys had the city council sowed up for decades. He didn't have much money and he didn't get any party backing. He just photocopied his flyer and kept walking the neighborhoods for 2 years straight every day even in the rain and the winter snow. He won the aldermanic race by a large amount because people openly said that the way he approached campaigning and the fact he was willing to put in that much effort and dedication showed them he was the kind of alderman they wanted and instead of the usual tiny turnout the district turnout went over 65%. Scared the hell out of the good old boys.
It works if you work it the saying goes. Glad I was around to see it and got to know him. I'm real old school and I believe in people raising their voices in these "listening sessions" that agencies and leaders have. You need someone who takes their turn to speak and uses it to say to the crowd "I'm going to ask a question or two and I want a loud answer from everybody." Then ask "Are you tired of being lied to?" When they say yes you say "Louder so they can hear!!" and you get them roaring. Then you ask "Do you want change?" Get them roaring again. Then wind it up by asking "If they don't get change are you going to get new leaders?" Get them roaring and do it twice. You show people this isn't going to just be the same old "pat people on the head and go home" dog and pony show.
I did a similar thing at an EPA listening session on PCB and VOC levels. Scared the hell out of the EPA folks who thought this was just going to be a quiet Q&A and hand out some literature sort of deal. We demanded answers about our toxic waste site problems and we got a much improved effort from EPA. Ineffective cleanup people got replaced etc. I'm old but I'm not mute and I won't shut up. Ever. Too old to be afraid of losing anything and too crazy to care about what people think.
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