by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
Election fever is in the air and though candidates are likely feeling a large share of the pressure and scrutiny, the campaign managers working behind the scenes say it’s all part of the game.
“Politics in general can be stressful. There’s no question about that,” said Dennis Hill, who works on Ginger Soud’s campaign. “Just like a football game, things can get pretty tense when you get closer to the fourth quarter.”
“It’s the nature of the beast,” said Margaret Akra Bulin, campaign manager for John Peyton. “Getting involved in campaigns can be chaotic, but you’ve got to learn to roll with the punches if you’re going to run a successful campaign.”
Bulin, a campaign veteran, said the slings and arrows of Jacksonville’s mayoral race haven’t been too difficult to dodge — so far.
“From my perspective, I’m used to the punches,” she said. “Someone new to the field might have a harder time adapting.”
Hill concurred.
“Planning is absolutely key,” he said. “You’ve got to set your objectives, develop a strategy and work that strategy. We’ve had a plan from the beginning and we won’t deviate from that. Nothing has surprised us.”
If there is one thing that campaign managers can agree upon, it’s that from election to election, the job can be as unique and varied as the candidates they work for.
“You can define the roles and functions of a campaign manager in any book, but it’s a unique experience every time,” said Paula Weatherby, Matt Carlucci’s campaign manager. “You have to look at the tools that your candidate brings to the table and go from there. I really perform a variety of tasks, but more than anything, I oversee the logistical issues of this campaign.”
Weatherby, who has a public relations background and has worked on campaigns for 13 years, says volunteer coordination is key.
“We have been inundated with offers to help, so we have to make sure that we have the right people working on the campaign and that those volunteers are communicating with each other at all times,” she said. “Communication is very important if we’re going to follow an appropriate timeline smoothly. We don’t want to have anyone over or underused.”
Bulin agreed.
“A good campaign manager should be able to find the people who are, in some cases, better than they are at a given task,” she said.
Howard Dale, Nat Glover’s campaign manager, takes a different approach. Unlike Weatherby, Hill and Bulin, Dale is not supervising the administrative duties of the campaign. Rather, he plays the role of a consultant who informs Glover of the issues at hand.
“I’m not a hands-on manager,” said Dale, an attorney at Dale, Bald, Showalter & Mercier. “Rather, I devote my time as needed to briefing Nat and bringing him up to speed on the policy issues. That’s my focus.”
In some cases, a political candidate may not hire a manager. Democratic candidate Keith Myers has chosen to handle his campaign strategy.
“I don’t have the large campaign budgets that the other candidates do,” he said. “But I’m proud of the campaign that I’ve put together so far. I schedule all of my appearances myself and I coordinate my volunteers. I don’t operate that way. I’m thinking for myself.”
No matter what specific functions a campaign manager chooses to adopt and the stress that comes with them, the ultimate goal remains unchanged.
“I think when any campaign manager takes the job, we all have the same objective,” said Hill. “We want to get our candidate elected.”