Expert: Dennis - 2/28/2005

Question
I would like to know when someone running for an office gets a staff together, what are their titles and duties?

Thanks.

Answer
This is the sixth time I've tried to answer this.

There is the campaign manager, who oversees the entire operation and has say so over about everything. There is the finance chairman whose job it is to raise funds. There is the polling coordinator who hires, or runs his own polls. There is the public relations coordinator who coordinates press releases, press meetings, and works to ensure as mucg free media attention for the candidate as possible. There is the volunteer coordinator who keeps track, assigns, finds and feeds volunteers. There is the precint coordinator(s). They keep track of all the plus and minus voters in the field. There is the media consultant/coordinator who crafts radio/tv/print ads in conjunction with an ad agency. He finds out who is watching what, when, where, and what messages they would like to hear. There is the visual coordinator whose job it is to make sure yard signs, billboards, bumper stickers are put in the right areas. (The campaign manager already decided what those signs will say and what colors they will be). There is the personal scheduler who will schedule the candidate and his her spouse's time during the campaign.There is the office(s) manager who will coordinate office help at various locations. There is the phone bank coordinator if they are doing their own calling. He will get staff to man the phones and produce scripts for them to read, as well as interpret the results. If a professional call service is being used, this coordinator will act as its liaison. There ias the research coordinator who will research the opponents record and personal life. There is the various laisons to the minority communities, school groups, unions, businesses, community organizations whose job it is to find out what it takes to get those groups support for your candidate.

Generally, all the big decisions are made by the campaign manager. He delegates the actual implemenation of those decisions to the other members.