Survival should not be your goal

Rebuilding the PC party in New Brunswick

Well, since I have critiqued (or graded) the New Brunswick Liberal government on some of their policy efforts thus far, I think it's only fair as an unbiased political observer to do the same with the New Brunswick Progressive Conservatives, especially since they are just coming off their first AGM since the 2006 election loss.

Now I know many are bogged down with this [recent] resolution which was put forward by the NB tories on floor crossing this past weekend, however, that will not be discussed in this post, nor will I criticize their decision to set a late leadership convention date (should have been this spring), as I am going to focus more on the future of the party organization and what the next leader of the PCs needs to do in order to [again] govern the great people of New Brunswick. For the record, I will break this down into four parts: 1.) which will focus on policy, and 2.) the rebuilding of party infrastructure 3.) fundraising 4.) electoral readiness and candidate recruitment. This blog post, or Part I, will be dedicated specifically to fundraising.

Background

The 2006 election defeat did not see the PC party decimated in all regions of the province, on the contrary, they were able to win the popular vote. However, it was devastating in so many other ways, but none so much as the financial burden which was placed on the party. The cuts to party infrastructure, which have taken place gradually, had a huge impact on the party's profile, communications, election readiness, membership and overall organization. The first step in rebuilding the party must be to establish a reliable and adequate revenue base to enable the other steps to be taken (and recouping the money lost from floor crossers does not suffice).

Moreover, for a party that has been accustomed to raising an ample amount of money and maintaining a strong head office and regional organizations with lots of volunteers, it has been nothing but a challenge lately to maintain those strengths of the past with so much of the burden placed on a reduced and mostly administrative personnel to process donations and raise funds. And though most riding associations stayed dedicated and active via their core volunteers, at the end of the day, they still found themselves strapped for cash, resources and dedicated workers. In other words, the party was not short on talented volunteers, not short on ideas and innovation, not short on good leaders at every level. The party was short on the cash and infrastructure to support such people and activities.

So if anybody interested in running for the PC leadership is reading this post, then listen up, the next leader should construct the foundation to rebuild the PC party and commit to establishing a party infrastructure and fundraising effort that is second to none.

Survival should not be your goal. The status quo should not be your strategy.

Eight Point Fundraising Strategy

1. Say hello to small donations

It is essential that the next New Brunswick PC leader change their fundraising efforts to a more grassroots approach where small donations are courted rather than large union or corporate donations. We see this strategy working at the federal level where the tories are outpacing their political opponents in the fundraising game, especially the Liberals, who have traditionally relied heavily on large corporate donations from Bay Street.

We also have seen this approach recently south of the border where Barak Obama was able to raise a large amount of money through very small donations (he held numerous fundraising events that cost in the range of $25 to $100 USD per ticket). However, what is more astonishing here is that this strategy was not only successful in a monetary sense, it was also able to bring in younger, first-time donors who ordinarily steer away from the political process due to lack of money. As well, these individuals may prove to be a valuable asset [return on investment] for political campaigns as they haven't come close to reaching their donation limit for contributing to a campaign. In other words, there is an incentive for a candidate to make use of these individuals within the machinery of his/her campaign team.

So for a party like the New Brunswick Progressive Conservatives, this strategy is ideal since it is more dynamic and successful than targeting big corporations and unions as it engages a whole new constituency into the political process. A win-win so to speak. Not to mention, this "small donation" and "grasroots" approach may have bridged the gap, or better yet, played a significant role in reducing citizen ennui when it comes to politics. But let's be realistic here folks, the role of money in politics is definitely nothing new. All parties know they need it to win. However, as demonstrated by Obama and Harper's fundraising methods, the game has definitely changed and the disconnect can now be addressed through the priorites of parties and individuals.

Furthermore, it may be in the best interest of the PC party to challenge the existing provincial election financing laws as they promote kickbacks to politicians and patronage to corporate donors. All of which seem to tilt in the favour of non-grassroots organizations like the Liberals.

For instance, a good example of this was the change in election fundraising rules at the federal level in Canada.

Case: the new financing laws [Bill C-24]. These laws were introduced in 2004 in order to limit the amount a corporation, union or individual could donate to riding associations, candidates up for election and/or nomination contests in the sum of $1000 dollars (which I believe was revised by the FAA in '06). It actually prohibits a corporation or union to donate directly to a registered political party and/or leadership candidate.

However, ever since Bill C-24 (an Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and the Income Tax Act) was given Royal Assent, there have been many individuals amongst the political establishment who continue to view it as an attack on big business [corporate donations], particularly from Bay Street. Not to mention, some view its function as disastrous towards the overall perception of the political trade. In other words, they see it as a law which confirms to its citizens that all political parties are institutionally corrupt.

I, on the contrary, believe that Bill C-24 has gone a long way in curbing the political influence of large corporations and unions on national political parties. As well, the new rules have managed to level the playing field for smaller parties, in that, they ensure that each vote obtained by a registered political party in a general election receives $1.75. So participating in the voting process can be an important monetary reward for the party which you chose to support. Thus, when viewed from an overall democratic perspective, it can be very empowering for the individual citizen as opposed to powerful corporations or unions.

So you can see why it is vital for the next leader of the NB PCs to adopt Mr. Obama's cutting edge fundraising approach, not to mention, challenge the existing election financing laws which favour party's courting big corporate donors and unions.

2. Thou shall not bring any baggage

As we have seen recently at the federal level, local and national election financing schemes, when not completely above board (but not illegal), can come back to bite a party when in office. That is why it is essential that the next New Brunswick PC party leader commit to having every candidate run a prudent and debt free campaign. Campaign debt and controversy is a hardship on the party both financially and organizationally. It distracts a new leader from focusing on his/her new responsibilties.

3. Add new fundraisers to the team

A new leader should commit to integrating his caucus into the fundraising plans. Several MLAs and former senators have excellent corporate and personal networks. Furthermore, recruit those who are exceptionally gifted at promoting the party to individual donors or have been active in successful fundraising activities in the past.

In addition, former party fundraisers and those who have been raising money for other parties must be reintegrated and welcomed into the fundraising plans. Some who have returned to the fold via other leadership campaigns during the leadership contest must be made part of the new team.

Use provincial campus clubs as a way to generate interest in the party. These individuals may not have a lot of money due to their university financial commitments, but their efforts in other aspects of the fundraising strategy are invaluable (check out the blue book cookbook put together by the Nova Scotia Young Tories). As of today, PC campus organizations at Mount Allison, UNB and STU have yet to be used to their full potential. That's why the party needs to give them the tools and knowledge to succeed. I mean honestly, you can't expect the Manning Centre to always keep picking up the slack.

4. Money follows a great message

Let's be clear on why individuals and small business owners fund political parties. The two main motivations to fund the NB Progressive Conservative Party is because they have a good chance at defeating the incumbent Liberals and they do a better job at respecting and welcoming members from the grassroots. There are many individuals in this province who are already discontent with the wasteful spending and tax increases coming out of Fredericton. Many small business owners are already of the mindset that the NB Liberal government is making very poor decisions, which in affect, hurt the province, the economy and their future prospects. Small business donors are business owners, and they do not invest in bad prospects.

A future leader of the PC party must find a way to bring forth good ideas that appeal to both small business donors and individual donors (who I spoke of in the first section). Not only should these ideas appeal to business donors, they must come with the realistic prospect that the party proposing them can form a government. Ideas must go hand-in-hand with a winning formula. It is a catch-22, because to win, the party needs money. Anyway, I'm sure NBpolitico and Spinks would agree, it's time to stop nitpicking and start connecting to donors with great ideas.

5. Direct marketing via mail/email

Contingency plans must be put in place to deal with dwindling membership lists and donors. That will involve a big investment in prospecting out a few new donors lists. The success or failure of a direct mail fundraising campaign to individuals lies heavily on the potential donors themselves and how well they are prospected out. In other words, you could have a thousand people on a list with only a small percentage of them seriously interested in donating. It is up to your fundraising team to reduce the large [initial] list of "possible donors" to "actual donors". The next leader of the PC party must commit to having his fundraising team revise the list so that a fresh set of donors are found, not to mention, online resources are maximized in order to keep donors updated and informed.

6. Close the deal (turn supporters into donors)

It is common knowledge that most supporters who do donate tend to do so (and rightly so) at the riding level during an election. Whether this is the fault of the party, a traditional practice of individual supporters or the distrust of the internet or direct mail as venue to donate is not the big question here. What is more important is taking a more cooperative approach in which HQ in Fredericton provides fundraising support to those local riding associations who wish to undertake a local direct mail program so that local members and supporters can be encouraged to escalate their support in being reliable donors. It's essential that this change in administrating mailing list be implemented ASAP.

7. Identify high-end personal donors as recruiters

High-end business or individual donors must assist the party in identifying others in their region or peer group who could be recruited as new individual donors. As mentioned before, the initial step could be done by a senator, MLA or party worker, but these particular individuals must be trusted to prospect potential donors on their own. Furthermore, a Hatfield club should be put in place in order to honour and recognize these valuable donors. Two categories of donors should be introduced: A $250 level restricted to those younger than 35 years of age, to introduce young professionals and supporters to the club; and a $2500 level for very large personal donors who will need to replace corporate revenue.

8. Maximize summer barbecue circuit

June, July and August should be focused on riding fundraising events --- golf tournaments, BBQs, auctions and a presence at local towns fairs and festivities, whatever works locally. Also, it would be useful to have strong ridings associations help out or guide weaker riding associations through the process. In other words, a province-wide summer fundraising series would not only help the ridings start building sufficient election war chests, but it would also give a potential leader a network of events to form the backbone of a high-profile summer tour.

In the fall and winter months, the party could hold a speakers bureau series or a casino event for charity as well. Although, I'm not big on Halloween fundraising events, especially when they are hosted by a wacky left-wing talk show host turned political candidate.

Stay tuned thursday: Building party infrastructure