CAMPAIGN - Polls And Endorsements

     I'm posting two blog entries today, so I may forgo posting an entry tomorrow.
     This afternoon, I learned some information about two tools that are often used to gauge a candidate's popularity BEFORE the election: telephone polls and newspaper endorsements.

TO POLL OR NOT TO POLL

     One of my campaign supporters told me today they had received a phone call, asking whom they were going to vote for in the Douglas County Commissioner race. I was surprised. Who...which candidate or special interest group...would have thousands of dollars to spare to hire a polling agency? We often hear of such polls on the national and state level, but the local county level?
     In reality, it's not as rare as one might think. The 2002 Douglas County Commissioner race was an expensive one. Each one of my three Republican opponents spent tens of thousands of dollars to try and win the May primary. On election night, I learned one of my Republican opponents had paid for a poll before the election. That candidate did NOT win the election.
      Because I have never used a poll in my previous campaigns, I can't speak as to why a candidate would waste (in my opinion) money on such an endeavor. I can only surmise that a candidate would use the information to find out where his/her strengths and weaknesses were. If a particular candidate or issue places a prominent role in the minds of people who are polled, then the candidate may adjust their campaign strategy to address those issues.
       Two of the issues that surfaced in the current poll that my campaign supporter participated in, included the person's thoughts on JOB CREATION and PUBLIC SAFETY. It'll be interesting to see in the weeks to come, if those two issues appear in candidates' campaign advertisements.
      This leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Doesn't the public want candidates who speak their minds, regardless of where the candidate's opponents stand on the issues? Can the public fully trust a candidate who changes his/her campaign profile, based on what the polls tell them? If a candidate truly wants to learn where the public stands on the issues, they should be going door-to-door talking to people face-to-face, instead of wasting campaign contributions on impersonal polls.

TO ENDORSE OR NOT TO ENDORSE

     I am looking forward to having a productive working relationship with the Roseburg News-Review this election season. The current editorial board is making a sincere effort to extend an "olive branch" to me, after a previous editorial board burned me in the 2002 Douglas County Commissioner race.
     As previously mentioned, the 2002 race was a very expensive and hotly-contested race. Four Republicans and two Democrats were vying for the seat. Back in those days, I naively believed that all journalists had an objective set of criteria when making political endorsements. Boy, was I wrong. The News-Review editorial called in all three of my Republican opponents (the ones who had tens of thousands of dollars to spend) and one Democratic candidate. When I contacted the editor after the election, asking why the editorial board hadn't talked with all six candidates, he told me they didn't have to. "It wasn't necessary" to talk with all candidates before making an endorsement.
     So, one can see why I'm happy this year. Regardless of whether or not I receive an endorsement from the News-Review, at least the newspaper is acknowledging my existence this year and including me in the endorsement process. The editorial board is scheduled to interview all seven county commissioner candidates April 10th....or at least interview the ones who attend the meeting.