Getting Elected: How to Win a Municipal Election

Dean Tudor is a journalism professor at the Ryerson Polytechnical
Institute and founding editor of the CBRA.

The good topics here include advice on civic responsibility (and enthusiasm and egos), planning a campaign, building a team and strategies, finances, headquarters, literature, telephone usage, canvassing, scrutineers, signage and advertising, and wrapping it all up with a celebration party. There are also lists of sample literature (checklists, organization charts, budget sheets, lawn signs, bumper stickers, newspaper ads, etc.). The most important chapters are those on how to get along with the press and those on how to get re-elected (which really begins right after being elected!). If the book lacks anything, it is advice on how to motivate people to clean up afterwards: how often have we all been disgusted about the political signs that hang around for months after the election? Some people who read this book might be turned off by the manipulation that goes on in electioneering. But then, that is what politics is all about!