by Monica Chamness
Staff Writer
Never heard of a blue elephant? Neither had Ward Blakely, managing partner of Blue Tusk Communications. But that didn’t stop him from inventing the “animal.”
Blue Tusk, a new political campaign and public relations firm, opened last month in Independent Square. The PR component is peripheral for the business, though. Blakely’s main concentration is politics.
“The appeal of politics for me is that we, as citizens, have the ability to mold and create our own government,” said Blakely. “Unfortunately, it’s a responsibility many people choose not to take.”
His big break in politics came when Tom Slade, current chair of the Republican Party of Florida, invited Blakely on the campaign trail. Christmas break of his senior year in college was spent flying around the state with Slade. When Slade was successful in winning the election for Republican chair in 1993, he offered Blakely a job in Tallahassee. A graduate of history and German studies at Hampdon-Syndney College in Virginia, Blakely was also entertaining an offer from Deutsche Bank in New York. Considering the position at the bank was for less money, he opted to stay in the South.
“[Under Slade] I served as his aide and was researcher for the Republican party so I saw all aspects of things,” he said.
He was there in 1994 when the Republicans won control of the State Senate; again in 1996 when they seized the State House and yet again in 1998 when Gov. Jeb Bush was elected.
Despite the obvious reference in the firm’s name to Republican affiliations, Blue Tusk has handled some Democratic campaigns and is currently handling John Rutherford’s bid for sheriff.
Blakely’s approach to campaigning is three-fold: fundraising, gathering volunteers and producing a media package.
“You [as a consultant] have to master the art of being everything to everybody,” he said. “You have to be an accountant, a businessman, somewhat of a leader, a psychiatrist, hand-holder, drill sergeant, a little of everything to get things going. I’m there to be the functionary, to stand in the background and keep the trains running on time.”
Blakely is also a partner in Tidewater Consulting in Tallahassee. A few of Tidewater’s accounts include the City, Jaxport and JEA. The Jacksonville enterprise was born out of market demand.
“Several people came to me to be involved in their campaigns,” explained Blakely. “Their offices are here in Jacksonville so it is filling a need for those people who asked me to do work for them. Downtown is central to everything going on in the City. It’s an easy place to come to.”
Being able to hand-pick candidates he wishes to represent is Blakely’s immediate goal for the fledgling company. Considering the number of hours required to effectively campaign, especially close to election day, Blakely takes a short respite between each endeavor to prevent burnout.
“There’s not enough time to get everything done, no matter how much you plan in advance,” he said.
Blakely’s political experience has been mainly on the Republican side and he prefers not to dabble in dirty tricks to get more votes.
“Generally, in any campaign, the people are more interested in the issues than in mud-slinging,” he said. “I think that ‘s a tactic of last resort. If you start down that road, it’s tough to get out of. Most candidates are interested in talking about issues and individuals are interested in how they will effect necessary change. Save the trash for daytime TV.”
Having grown up in Jacksonville, Blakely understands the conservative nature of the First Coast. Unlike many in the community, though, he does not foresee Jacksonville’s business boom having a large impact on his work.
“It will indirectly help in terms of money that can be raised for campaigns,” he said. “Having seen the way other cities perform on the state level, Jacksonville does its fair share of raising funds. A lot has to do with the sense of community here. Jacksonville continues to show interest in its political future and the business sector is more politically involved than businesses in other towns.”