Run for Office.
The Michigan Library Association (MLA) is a strong believer that local government has more of an effect on your day-to-day life than the federal government, shaping our communities for years to come. Over the past year, we have seen our school and library board elections become increasingly more polarizing as the culture wars rage. MLA is aware that many local races are being infiltrated by extremist candidates intent on subjecting our libraries, historically nonpartisan institutions, to their political agendas. To protect Michigan’s treasured public libraries and our Constitutional rights, it is important that public libraries remain separate from these narrow, partisan and extremist ideologies.
With that in mind, MLA is building up our “election toolkit.” It is critical to ensure that our public library boards are composed of rational people who focus on the issues which really affect their library instead of creating issues through misleading and inflammatory talking points that do not protect every community member’s right to read. Library boards need pro-library candidates to run who are willing to step up, put in the time and who will not succumb to censorship, dangerously threaten library funding or use the office to harass and subject librarians to mental anguish.
If that sounds like your cup of tea, keep reading for 10 steps to running for a seat on the local library board.
1. Start early and ask a lot of questions.
Starting early is probably the most important step in winning a local election. To win your race, you have one simple goal: to get more votes than your competition. The earlier you start, the more time you will have to get more votes. First things first: Attend a regular board meeting! Watch the dynamic of the current board and consider what skills you'd bring to the table. You are going to want to ask questions to people who have run before, your supervisor of elections, people who have done the job, even the person who currently holds the office. What was their day-to-day like? How big was their campaign team, if any? How much money did they raise, if any? What did they do to campaign? If you want to throw your hat in the ring, call your city, township or county clerk to get started.
2. Register your candidacy to comply with local campaign laws.
Elected offices typically don't require you to have any particular background, education, or experience in politics. There are usually age and residency requirements, but beyond that we suggest a healthy dose of passion, commitment and the willingness to work hard.
3. Build an experienced and committed campaign team (even if it is small).
You don’t have to do this alone! Focus on recruiting committed volunteers who have the time and desire to help you win. We recommend you find someone with a bit of campaign management experience who really knows what they're doing and how to get your campaign off the ground. Remember there are plenty of tasks that need to be powered by humans: literature drops, phone calls, installing signs, knocking on doors, etc. When people offer to help, give them a job. Never turn down any offers to help!
4. Set a budget for your campaign and develop a fundraising plan.
Prioritizing raising money and also garnering votes should be on parallel paths. You need both – one doesn’t necessarily come before the other. (NOTE: If you stay under $1,000 raised and spent, you do not need to file a campaign finance report.) Research the cost of campaign materials so you know how much you'll need. Will you want signs, t-shirts, digital ads, direct mail, fliers, lawn signs? Start with ballpark estimates for all the things you'll want so you can figure out how much money you need to raise. Even if you have enough private money to fund your campaign, you should still fundraise. Asking for money means you must talk to voters, and voters who donate to your campaign are more likely to vote for you. We know fundraising is uncomfortable (and a little scary), but remember, you're not asking for money for yourself, you're asking for money to support change that you and the donor believe in. You do not get what you don’t ask for.
5. Learn as much as you can about your community and the library.
Look at population demographics and voting history. All of this information will help you plan your campaign strategy on who you need to persuade and the type of person you need to appeal to. The best strategy is to simply have a sit down with the library director and the library board chair. Get to know them and the challenges that they work on daily like funding, privacy, collection development, access, censorship and book banning. Are there any big millage campaigns coming up? Capital projects? Immediate funding needs? This will help you decide on your approach and the overall look of your campaign.
6. Buddy up and create a bloc.
Link your campaign with experienced candidates or library board incumbents who share your values and support the same major issues. Create a bloc. With this strategy, you and the other candidates present yourselves as a package deal, allowing you to capitalize on the other candidate’s supporters. You might make appearances together and create signage that presents your joint campaigns.
7. Identify influencers and leverage networks.
You will never have enough time to talk to every voter in your district. Identify the people in your community who seem to know everybody and who people look up to—those are the people you want on your side. Endorsements by individuals and organizations are key, and you should reach out for these as soon as possible.
8. Form a communications strategy.
It is crucial to develop a communication plan that articulates your message clearly, consistently, and creatively. What should you take into consideration? Who you are talking to, why you are talking to them, how and when you will talk to them, what form of communication the content should take and what channels you should use to share it. You must have the ability to successfully convey a message through good writing, powerful verbal delivery all while engaging with a wide variety of audiences to spread your message. When designing your campaign, you’ll want to take into consideration brand consistency, campaign slogans, sharing your stance on the issues, social media presence, media coverage, letters to the editor/op-eds, speeches, yard signs and so much more. Click here for specific details on these topics.
9. Prioritize face-to-face contact with voters.
It is critical that you establish face-to-face contact with voters so they know you care, and it's a lot easier to persuade someone to vote for you in person. If they feel like you know them personally and really listened to what they have to say, they'll want to have you representing them at the library. Volunteers can help you out with this by knocking on doors and talking to voters as well, but it's important that you get out there and mingle with your community. Community campaign events, coffee hours and town halls are also a great way to talk to voters and show them that you care about the issues affecting the library.
10. Mobilize your supporters to go to the polls.
Two weeks before the election, shift your focus to getting out the vote. Follow up with everyone who has indicated they support you and remind them to go to the polls. Send out emails or texts with reminders as well. The important thing is not to assume everyone you talked to is going to get out and vote for you — you must ask them to. On the day of the election, head to the polls and meet voters. Campaigning is not allowed within 100 feet of the entrance to the polling location, but as long as you keep your distance, you can meet voters and remind them who you are.
Are you convinced? If so, and you are ready to jump in and run for your local library board, feel free to reach out to us. Or better yet, head over to your local library (if you don’t already have a library card, make sure you get one.) Your local library is sure to have materials to help you learn more about running for a seat on a local school board or library board, they will be happy to help you check them out.