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Candidates Must Actively Seek Out Endorsements

February 10, 2011 Politics/Policy 9 Comments

A week ago I posted my sole endorsement for the upcoming primary (seeÂ 20th Ward Endorsement: Shannon J. McGinn). Â The next day I got a call from another candidate in the primary in one of the 14 even numbered wards. Â Why had I not contacted that candidate?

I met this particular candidate at the Board of Elections on the first day of filing in November and gave s/he my card. Â I heard nothing until the day after I made my sole endorsement. And this person called me to ask why I didn’t contact them! Â Really?

Hopefully some of you out there are contemplating a run in 2013. You can start laying the groundwork now and pick up steam in mid 2012. Â One of the many things you need to do is determine the support you want/need to win. Â Like voters on election day, you can’t sit back and hope they find you. Â If you want to be elected to public office for a four year term you’ve got to go out and earn it. Â You want my endorsement, you’ve got to ask for it.

The same applies to unions or professional organizations like the St. Louis Association of REALTORS.

- Steve Patterson

Mom's Basement

Speaking of the election… where does Starr (for ward 6) actually live?
The city lists her as the owner of 5411 Idaho 63111 (Ward 13), with the owner's address at 4651 Tennessee 63111 (ward 25) (her brother), but she is currently stating that she resides at 2621 Louisiana St. Louis, MO 63118 which is listed under her mother's name (Jill Triplett).
So does she live in her mom's basement?

http://urbanreviewstl.com/ Steve Patterson

Not sure where she lives. City records show her mom's basement as unfinished, so hopefully not there. The house has 1,768sf, plenty of room for two.

JZ71

Steve – interesting ego trip you're on here . . . sounds like the only way to “earn” your endorsement is knowing what to kiss and when . . . and before you go off on “this is my site, etc.”, I agree that you're both free to do what ever you want AND that it's in every candidate's best interest to cast as wide a net as possible when it comes to seeking support. But that presupposes that every candidate is both internet / social media savvy AND aware of every local blogger. My experience, especially if one wants to both educate and to make educated recomendations, is to proactively reach out to everyone in each race that interests you and to ask the same questions of each candidate. Their responses usually say a lot, as do their non-responsiveness. But just sitting back and expecting every candidate to grasp your (self?-) importance isn't much different than the assumptions that seem pervade endorsements from the various unions and our Democratic ward organizations . . .

http://urbanreviewstl.com/ Steve Patterson

No ego trip, if a candidate wants an endorsement from anyone they must go after that endorsement. This person left me a message upset I hadn't contacted them before making an endorsement. Other candidates didn't do that. Frankly I was shocked someone cared enough to call me upset I didn't reach put to them. But as I indicated, I had reached out to this candidate and s/he didn't contact me. They mentioned an organization that had also made some endorsements.

Chris

I have to side with Steve on this.

Alfred Fickensher

I believe it's part-and-parcel to our political system that candidates make their trek, hat-in-hand, into the editorial offices of newspapers to sit at a table and be uncomfortably questioned by the papers' editorial boards. Only after hearing and watching the candidates' words and demeanor, will a candidate possibly get that paper's endorsement.

JZ71

I agree, and I agree that the one candidate's call to Steve after the fact was a bit strange. But I also think it's a major stretch to equate this blog with the editorial board at the Post-Dispatch. While we regulars hold urbanreviewstl in high esteem, we are a small universe of St. Louis voters. There are hundreds of blogs in the city, many others based in the county that cover the city, and even statewide ones, and none of us can name even 10% of them. To expect any candidate or campaign to seek out each and every one of them is a bit extreme.

I guess it all boils down to whether one views their blog as journalism (where ther's an assumption and an expectation of accuracy, aka “fair and balanced”) or as a biased, opinionated soapbox for personal opinions. They both have their place, but as either a candidate or a voter, I would view any endorsement one makes quite differently. The challenge here is that Steve is trying to straddle both worlds: “A look at public policy, urban planning and related politics in the St. Louis region.” Or, I guess, more precisely, he wants to wear both hats, reporter and editor. Which gets back to my original confusion – should the reporter seek out the candidates, or should nthe candidates seek out the editor?!

http://urbanreviewstl.com/ Steve Patterson

Which is why I spent the entire morning on the first day of filing at the Board of Elections so I could meet each candidate for office that filed. I can't help it if they didn't think to contact me but I'm not going to be quiet when one calls my whining about not getting contacted.
Alfred Fickensher

Aahh, I now see your point.
Yes indeed, there _are_ levels of journalism and in all honesty, blogs aren't really up there.
I also reread Steves original post plus his response to you, and I believe he isn't really saying they need to come to him. Instead he's saying that they have no gripe coming when he does endorse someone other then them if they themselves never went to him beforehand.
And to build on what you wrote: As to what weight might be given to a blog's endorsement, this ain't the StL P-D.
alf

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