In 2006 Matt Rexroad, in his campaign for county supervisor, was ahead of the curve. He was out there engaging with the public on a variety of issues and utilized his blog as a way to connect with voters.
That was more than six years ago and the remarkable thing is that there have been very few efforts to replicate Mr. Rexroad’s effective use of his blog – a precursor to widely-available social media like Facebook and Twitter.
While not on the scale of Mr. Rexroad’s effort, Claire Sherman has done a good job of utilizing her campaign’s Facebook page in an effort to engage the public. The numbers at first do not jump off the page, with only 89 people having liked her campaign page.
But drilling down, you see 50 people talking about this and their weekly reach has topped 25,000.
“Wow! I am really awestruck by the level of engagement!” she posted on Sunday morning. “Our level of engagement is up OVER 1200% and our weekly reach has topped 25,000 people. This is what grassroots can do, but unfortunately it is not enough.”
Ms. Sherman has decided not to take campaign donations, but instead is pushing Facebook as a powerful medium to lay out her message.
“We have the potential to change the status quo electoral process for the DJUSD Board. THIS IS IMPERATIVE NOW given the fiscal crisis and new ballot initiatives that may provide funding for education,” she wrote. “I don’t think that seats on the School Board should be for sale to the highest spenders. When you have 2 candidates with campaign cash of greater than $10,000 and a third candidate with campaign funds of greater than $8,000 to woo your support (and these statistics do not include nonmonetary contributions), perhaps we should be more reflective of this process.”
She also has utilized the blog on the Davis Patch, asking the question, “Is the DJUSD School Board Listening to the Community.”
There she cited an exchange she had with School Board Member Sheila Allen.
On October 17, she wrote on Facebook “The present School Board has occasionally become mired in group think because they’re really not listening, or they’re only listening to what they want to listen to, or they actually think they are so right that they’re not interested in listening. All of these situations lead to a lot of suboptimal solutions.”
She added, “I think we equate leadership in a School Board member with being an expert. The leader is supposed to come in and fix things. However, it’s almost impossible for a single person to do that. So, if we could have leaders who would start by just listening, just trying to understand what’s going right/wrong from the perspective of the community, that would be an excellent start.”
“She concluded, “The kind of leaders that the school district needs reject ideology, reject the status quo, and are really open to listening to solutions from people who are most impacted by the problems. As a community we need to remind ourselves that the school district is only as successful as the weakest part.”
Sheila Allen would respond, “Hi Claire, we have never had a chance to talk. Feel free to email me and we can sit down so you can know what I think about school issues and I can hear what you have to say. I certainly do not have all the answers but I do know that all of the current school board members do not all think alike and we definately listen to the community.”
To which, Ms. Sherman responded, “Hi Sheila, Having visited school sites and participated in candidate forums, I believe that many in the community do not share your sentiments. When the public attends school board meetings they expect to be heard and have their concerns considered. That hasn’t been my experience, though. One of your colleagues on the board had the temerity to tell me that I didn’t value education because he didn’t agree with my comments. However, rather than describe what others have shared with me, I invite the community to post their grievances. I would also like to let the community weigh in on whether the current school board members definitely listen to the community.”
On Friday, Ms. Sherman posted, “It Looks like we have the attention of a Current School Board Member here on FB. Please feel free to post your comments, concerns and grievances. This is the type of open dialogue we need. I encourage you to participate and share!”
This precipitated a lengthy discussion from a number of community members.
Earlier she posted an appeal about why UC Davis students should vote for her for the school board.
The level of engagement here is fairly unique. Most candidates use social media to promote events, but Ms. Sherman has attempted to use it to engage her supporters and the public.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
She’s been showing up uninvited on my FB page. It’s actually kind of annoying.
Unknown donors throw in $11,000,000 to defeat prop 30 and she complains about the thousands raised in under $1000 donations by members of the community to run. Seems like swatting a gnat while being stampeded by a herd of elephants.
With respect to the donations cited above, I think a point that might have been lost is that this becomes an issue of magnitude. If we conservatively (based on disclosures from earlier in October) estimate that the campaign expenditures for the school board race are $30,000 in a town of 66,000 people, then this works out to approximately $0.45/person. Now, contrast this with the $11 million donation in question in a state with 37.7 million people: $0.29/person. We can debate the minor points about students registered to vote out of town, or children under 18 years not being able to vote, but the larger issue is that the stakes are a whole lot higher with statewide Prop 30 than in a local school board election. So why all this ridiculous spending for what are volunteer positions? Just wait for the full-page ads to start appearing in the Davis Enterprise with the family photos and the mile-long list of Paris Hilton-like endorsements with the subliminal message of “I’m supporting so-and-so — I’m hot, so do what I do or be a loser.” I remember reading on the Davis Vanguard a few weeks ago a posting from a former city council member who said that any campaign that doesn’t use lawn signs is doomed. Personally, I’m more inclined to support a candidate who doesn’t assume that my vote will be influenced by 5 or 6 words on a piece of cardboard.
BTW – California Common Cause is trying to get to the bottom of the $11 million donation. Apparently it came from a Phoenix organization with legal lineage to Karl Rove and the Koch Brothers, according to SF Gate. What a surprise. Reprehensible? Yes, but it doesn’t detract from the issue of wanting to win an election without having to buy it. Go for it, and may the best persons win.
[quote]reject the status quo[/quote]Scary… “open to questioning the status quo”, I would support…. turning [b]everything[/b] over (“rejecting”)is just scary… strike one from my palette of choices….
For a candidate who focuses on listening and communicating with constituents, I’m disappointed in Sherman. She was a no show at the League of Women Voters forum, and refused to participate in the Davis Media candidate statements. Additionally, she was a no show at our elementary school’s last PTA meeting.
Sure, we occasionally have personal issues to address, but at this rate it’s an issue for me. Maybe digital media is suppose to make up for this, but that ignores the fact that not all families have equal access to the internet, and not all parents use digital media to the same degree.
wdf1: [i]she was a no show at our elementary school’s last PTA meeting[/i]
…when there was a school board candidate forum.
Perhaps Ms. Sherman has a reasonable explanation. She was always very responsive to the Vanguard’s requests.
Sheila Allen: [i]”… the current school board members do not all think alike and we [b]definately[/b] listen to the community.”[/i]
Definately?!!!
I did not know about Ms. Sherman’s presence on Facebook. However, I have been a bit disappointed in her campaign. She is much smarter than all of the other candidates. She would be a great asset on the Davis School Board. But by not raising money*, missing a forum and not really projecting her ideas well into the public conscience, it seems to me her candidacy is going nowhere. I expect she will finish well behind Lovenburg, Peterson and Fernandes.
*I don’t fault anyone who finds raising money for a campaign morally objectionable. It strikes me as slimy. It’s one of the many reasons I would not run for any public office. But if you are going to run, you need some money. And if you are not willing or able to fund a campaign out of your own checkbook, you need to ask others to finance your efforts. Unfortunately, Claire Sherman looks to me like she will lose because she did not manage this aspect of her campaign well.
What is it that candidates spend on that makes their campaign so viable? Here’s what I’ve seen so far:
1. A big collapsible tent at the Farmer’s Market.
2. Some cool glossy handouts with the perennial platitudes and testimonials about having and raising kids and living in Davis and being respected by the community leaders, blah blah blah. Style, not substance. Not unlike Paris Hilton.
3. Lawn signs. They move me. Seriously. Like Paris.
4. Sophisticated professionally designed web pages that show a candidate with lots of cute children and that make it easier for you to donate your money to them. They don’t say much, but by now, do you really care?
5. Coming to a newspaper near you: huge ads featuring all of the above (except the tent) that cry out: “Look at me! Look at me! Everyone else who counts supports me! That way, you too can be “Cool” and the Gang.”
This gets votes?
If you want to vote on candidates based on issues, as recorded in online media, here you go:
Vanguard Forum ([url]http://dctv.davismedia.org/node/38532[/url])
League of Women Voters Forum, Pt. 1 ([url]http://dctv.davismedia.org/node/38641[/url]), & Pt. 2 ([url]http://dctv.davismedia.org/node/38642[/url]), sans Claire Sherman
Candidate statements:
Alan Fernandes ([url]http://dctv.davismedia.org/node/38555[/url])
Jose Granda ([url]http://dctv.davismedia.org/node/38556[/url])
Susan Lovenburg ([url]http://dctv.davismedia.org/node/38557[/url])
Nancy Peterson ([url]http://dctv.davismedia.org/node/38558[/url])
wdf1,
I’m sorry you feel disappointed. However, there are reasons for the “no shows” that you cite.
I was unable to participate in the Davis Media Access candidate statement recording sessions because with only two dates available: October 2 and October 4, I had to regretfully decline due to unavoidable work-related conflicts.
I did not participate in the League of Women Voters forum because I was, well, gastrointestinally challenged. In fact, this was announced by Jean Canary at the forum; I had sent my regrets to Jean the morning of the meeting. A roomful of people may have avoided getting sick because I didn’t show up!
As for the PTA meeting, I have not missed a single candidate forum at a PTA meeting where I was invited. Cesar Chavez did have a Spanish Immersion Parents and Teachers (SIPAT) meeting that announced three candidates would be attending. Andi Carr (SIPAT President) later wrote to explain that “The candidates who are coming all approached me separately and asked to come to the meeting. With all of the other forums scheduled and well-advertised I didn’t think we needed to turn our meeting into a forum; I’m giving each candidate 5-7 minutes to speak and then, I believe, they are leaving. If Claire would also like to attend, she is welcome.” Because I hadn’t previously self-invited myself to the parents’ meeting, I wanted to be respectful of Andi’s sentiments to not turn it into a School Board candidate forum.
I will continue to be available at any future forums, the Farmers’ Market, e-mail, Facebook (and I do write back right away), and any other venues. I gladly accept invitations to meet with individuals and groups too!
If you would like to learn more about me and my positions, you may use the following URLs:
Facebook School Board candidate page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Claire-Sherman-for-Davis-School-Board/456375334392971?ref=ts&fref=ts
A brief introduction to my campaign by Jeff Hudson: http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/schools-news/sherman-enters-davis-school-board-race/
Another Davis Enterprise bio by Jeff Hudson: http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/schools-news/sherman-wants-to-bring-insights-as-classroom-volunteer-to-school-board/
Vanguard questions (Part 1): http://davisvanguard.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5715:school-board-candidates-written-responses&catid=68:budgettaxes&Itemid=119
Vanguard questions (Part 2): http://davisvanguard.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5716:school-board-candidates-written-responses-part-two&catid=69:elections&Itemid=121
Vanguard candidate forum highlights: http://davisvanguard.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5736:candidates-forum-highlights-expertise-draws-out-policy-differences&catid=69:elections&Itemid=121
California Aggie comment: http://www.theaggie.org/2012/10/16/editorial-endorsing-education/
Sherman: Thanks.
Shane, I agree with your feelings – especially about lawn signs. Besides being eyesores, they are divisive mechanisms, inciting unnecessary hostility among would-be friendly neighbors who otherwise would not discuss politics (for good reason). How many of us really want to know how our neighbors’ politics?
Lawn signs, bumper stickers, tee shirts, well-publicized endorsements (and nerdiest of all, buttons) [i]work[/i], due to the principle of “social proof” [i]aka[/i] “social validation.” It’s just as you said:
[quote]“Look at me! Look at me! Everyone else who counts supports me! That way, you too can be “Cool” and the Gang.”[/quote]Published social proof experiments illustrate very clearly that yes, sheeple are just that easily led.
Shane: With respect to lawn signs, sometimes it’s a good conversation piece with friends and neighbors. I see someone w/ a lawn sign and figure they must have some strong feelings for the issue. If I’m ambivalent, it’s an opening for me invite them to convince me if I see them.
I also see it as branding, which is more about building positive familiarity. Which of these three brands of toothpaste would you feel most comfortable buying? Crest, Kreutzer, or Kremlin?
Should it make a difference? No, but it does.
[i]”With respect to lawn signs, sometimes it’s a good conversation piece with friends and neighbors.”[/i]
Agreed. A neighbor of mine has a lawn sign up right now for one of the school board candidates. She has kids in the Davis schools; I don’t. I respect my neighbor’s views and asked her about that candidate. That prompt and subsequent conversation was not my only source of information when deciding my votes for the school board. But it was information I found useful.
Dear Ms. Sherman,
You had only to ask for an alternate date for the recording sessions at Davis Media Access and I would have done my utmost to accommodate you. Several other candidates did so, and we worked it out. You told me point blank you were “declining the statement” but never inquired about the possibility of another date. Candidates are generally eager to utilize this free media opportunity and I regret that you felt unable to make inquiries. Sincerely, Autumn Labbe-Renault, Executive Director, Davis Media Access
Hi Autumn,
I did not inquire further about alternative dates and times because when you had e-mailed me (September 27) regarding those that remained open, you were also out of town for a funeral. I was uncomfortable engaging you about other possibilities when you were dealing with a more important event.