Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapters
01 - The Candidate
02 - The Staff

Chapter One

The Campaign Office

You should open an office only when you have enough money in the bank to keep it open and supplied until November. Your Treasurer should create an office budget to include rent, utilities, supplies, equipment rental, and starting costs. If you are fortunate enough to have an office space donated to your campaign, you will still need an operating budget. Make sure you know what the office will cost you before you make any commitments to the landlord.

Opening a campaign office will increase overall morale and give the candidate, staff and volunteers a place to call home. Your first campaign office is an important step in your political career. The office does not have to have a storefront on the main drag; you can often find cheap office space in light industrial areas or low end commercial districts. Some light industrial spaces have a front reception area, a couple of offices and a large back area for a phone room and sign storage. These spaces also tend to rent for half of what a storefront or space in an office building would cost.

You should make sure the office space suits your basic needs; your office must have a bathroom, air/heating system and a private office. You will want to look for office space that has a majority of the following:

1. A Reception area
2. At least 2 private offices
3. A space large enough to run a phone bank
4. Ample parking
5. Good security
6. A kitchen area
7. Storage space/copy room
8. Is cable/DSL ready or satellite able
9. A conference room
10. A smoking area
11. Is Freeway close

Assuming the new office is clean and ready to move in to, you will need to find office equipment, furnishings, supplies and decorations. Only 2 rooms need to have nice furniture, the reception area and the candidate’s office. All other rooms can be furnished with whatever used crap you can find. Remember that every dollar not spent on getting your message out can cost you up to three votes. How many cards, fliers or donation envelopes can you get for that dollar?

If you have a good technical support person (or wirehead) on your team you can save a lot of money. They will be able to network your computers and office equipment together, select the right software for your needs, build and maintain your website, hook up your phone system, create a database and advise the candidate and staff on technology matters.

If you do not have a wirehead, find one; these people are the present and future of political campaigns. They can often be found in any young Republican club meeting in the back, near the laptop projector, wearing glasses and a polo shirt with a bad haircut and an oversized head. This person could win the election for you (given the right conditions). Remember to reserve one of the private rooms in the office for your wirehead. They work best away from distractions such as human contact and sunlight.

Your wirehead should be able to find the best deals on the office equipment you need.

1. A network printer
2. A professional photocopier
3. A fax machine
4. A wireless router
5. A scanner
6. A network server
7. A phone system
8. And several PCs/Macs

All of these things can be networked together easily with staffers’ personal laptops and computers they bring from home. Reconditioned, older computers will work just fine for the majority of your needs. You don’t the newest equipment to accomplish your goals, but the older your machines are, the more skilled your wirehead needs to be to keep things running smoothly. (Note: Sometimes it’s cheaper and more effective to use cutting edge technologies for things like phone systems).

Furnishings should be kept tasteful in the reception area and the candidate’s office. You will need to borrow or have donated two nice desks, a couch and a matching chair as well as three or four matching office chairs. They do not have to be new, but they do have to be tasteful and in good condition. Many law offices, hotels and professional buildings redecorate frequently and sell the used stuff to a liquidator.

Your local office furniture liquidator can be found in the phonebook or by a quick web search. These are usually the best deals in town on office equipment, furniture and electronics, second only to public auctions. You may also shop the local thrift stores, flee markets and yard sales for bargains. I heard of one candidate that bought a beautiful, framed portrait of Ronald Regan for ten dollars at a yard sale while walking precincts. He walked around the rest of the day with a 2’x 3’ portrait of the “Old Man” tucked under his arm. It looked perfect over his desk.

The largest room in the office should be the phone room. You can use folding chairs and tables in the phone room and decorate with yard signs, photos and an oversized district map. An old desk in the back of the room can serve as the Volunteer coordinators office and two more along the wall for the Prescient Director and their assistant. If you are using a light industrial building and your phone room is in the warehouse section, try to block off the area with prefabricated walls. These walls can also be purchased inexpensively from the liquidator. This room will need to be well lit and have its own coffee maker, water cooler and snack table.

Of course the candidate should have their own private office, but the Campaign Manager and the Research Director can share an office as can the Treasurer and the Media Director. If they have an inner-office meeting, they can use the conference room or the candidate’s office. If the building doesn’t come with a janitorial service, you will need to hire a maintenance crew or get volunteers to clean the office, daily.

The staff offices do not need to be well decorated or particularly comfortable. (I’m picturing milk crates for chairs and empty, wooden wire spools as tables). The staff offices will require a television and basic cable or satellite service (CNN, FOX, C-span, the cartoon network), Two computers on the office network, two phones for each office, two desks, an old couch and a lockable steel cabinet. You should encourage staffers to personalize their office space by bringing things from home; after all, they will be spending more time at the campaign office than they will at home.

The kitchen area will require a refrigerator, a microwave oven, a toaster, a large coffee maker and a shelf. Many of these items can be donated or borrowed from home. Visitors will see the kitchen and restroom, so they must be tastefully decorated and kept clean. The storage room will require shelving units and a lockable cabinet, but you also might consider putting your printer, fax machine and copier in there as well.

You will want to have as many of these items donated as possible; therefore it is a good idea to let everyone supporting you know what you need at least two weeks before you open an office.