In the run-up to the 2006 elections we heard numerous stories about Howard Dean's 50 state strategy and how Democrats weren't going back away from any race anywhere. We saw candidates that were endorsed early on by the netroots win races that might have otherwise been written off. I soaked up all the information I could on how bloggers could influence an election and I watched as the blogosphere helped steer national media stories. In the midterm elections I got to see firsthand how new media meshed with people powered politics could become a winning strategy.
But I wondered, can we use this model locally - here in Fort Wayne, Indiana? Can we really influence the local media and help our candidates win? Well I'm here to report that after watching this week's election results come rolling in from Fort Wayne, Indiana, the answer to those questions is a resounding YES. Find out how we did this after the flip...
Obviously there was a lot of hard work by hundreds and hundreds of supporters and volunteers that made this victory possible and we were only one of many local blogs covering this election. But for the purposes of this diary, I want to focus on what we did at Fort Wayne Left to help win the mayor's race.
The main thing we tried to do is build credibility in our coverage of local politics. We covered city council meetings, press conferences and did interviews with local officials and candidates. We gave readers something the traditional media couldn't - depth. We could post 10 page interviews and/or long video interviews. And because we were there, in person, we could cover parts of the story the traditional media chose to ignore. During this process we became a popular and credible source for local news and commentary - albeit with our own political slant.
While building credibility we also focused on networking. If we were going to be influential then we had to try and get involved with the movers and shakers. We interacted with local officials, media and citizens at every opportunity. We tried to make sure they knew that our influence was building and that we should not, and could not, just be ignored.
When they locked me out of a city council meeting, I filed a formal complaint with the Public Access Counselor and wrote an op-ed piece for the local papers. When the Republican controlled election board held a whitewash hearing to try and cover up the Republican nominee's campaign finance violation, we provided extensive coverage and analysis - the next day the headline on the editorial page was WHITEWASH. When the Republican nominee lied and said he was just "a poor kid from the Catholic ghetto" I drove to his old neighborhood and posted photos so everyone could see that he grew up in an extremely wealthy neighborhood.
When the Republican executive committee was taking a vote on whether or not they wanted to support their nominee, we got inside information and posted the results of that vote which lead the Republican party chairman to publicly disband his own executive committee. When the Republican nominee didn't properly report a campaign contribution from a controversial Republican blogger, I dug through the campaign finance reports, documented the error, and filed a formal complaint with the election board.
When the Republican nominee held a private birthday party and had a cake that trashed other local Republicans, we found the photos on the internet and posted them on our site. The next day this story blew up into a major catastrophe for the opposition with the photos appearing prominently in the newspaper and on every television news channel. It ultimately led Congressman Souder, a staunch Republican and long time friend of the nominee, to publicly withdraw his endorsement and state that he may not vote for the Republican candidate. That is the first time I have ever seen a member of Congress publicly withdraw an endorsement.
In essence we built our own news organization with people feeding us tips, analysis and inside information. We took this organization and used it to help mold the traditional media coverage of the race and I believe we were wildly successful at doing so. The Republican candidate did have legal problems due to his violation of campaign finance laws - which we covered extensively, linking to relevant statutes and connecting the dots - and this surely played a major role in his defeat.
But we should never discount the role we, as bloggers, can play in the outcome of elections. Not just national elections but local as well. The methods are the same and we proved that they can work anywhere in the country - even in a city like Fort Wayne where Republicans hold a major advantage in registered voters.
I am proud to say that on Nov 6, 2007 Democrat Tom Henry trounced Republican Matt Kelty by 20 points and is now the mayor elect of Fort Wayne, Indiana! It is the first time in over 100 years this city has had back-to-back Democratic mayors. As mayor elect Henry said:
We've worked hard for a victory, let's enjoy it!
Photo taken by Scottfw