NLC Institute 2010 – Political Management

The New Leaders Council of San Diego (NLC) held its Political Management session on the April 10, 2010.

Management skills are an important part of leadership across all sectors. NLC Fellows spent a day learning about how political campaigns operate, and how non-profits and campaign managers organize their volunteers.

The training began with a presentation from Gayl Jaaskelainen, a veteran campaign manager who operates across California. Jaaskelainen gave Fellows the cold hard truth about running for office, and the significant sacrifices of time and agency one must make to the process.

As the former San Diego Political Director for the Clinton 1992 election, Jaaskelainen had her fair share of war stories to share. She had an anecdote for every issue, and she tied her points to real world examples.

During lunch, the Fellows took a tour of the Training Center for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 569. Micah Mitrosky, Environmental Organizer with the IBEW explained how IBEW’s Training Trust provides apprentices with free tuition as they learn how to be skilled electricians. Through the apprenticeship program, the IBEW is creating sustainable middle class jobs for San Diego’s economy.

Mitrosky explained that IBEW’s electricians are trained on a number of energy-saving techniques that have significant environmental impacts. She took the Fellows on a tour of the IBEW’s rooftop solar installation, which provides a significant percentage of the Training Center’s energy needs.

After lunch, the Fellows heard from one of their own, Aaron Freiberg. Freiberg discussed how a voter file operates, and how campaigns can manage data related to their supporters. Freiberg walked the Fellows through VAN, a popular voter file program. He explained how the program managed data, how to construct a voter universe out of likely voters, and how to generate walk sheets and phone lists of voters to contact.

The final component to the day was a session on volunteer management. A panel of skilled volunteer coordinators discussed some best practices for motivating and recruiting volunteers. NLC Fellow Rhiannon Good discussed how she organizes people to do voter contact at Planned Parenthood. Micah Mitrosky discussed her experience mobilizing voters and activists around the Sunrise Powerlink project during her days as an organizer with the Sierra Club San Diego Chapter. Angela Moran discussed her work as the Transformation Through Service Director with the nonprofit Shakti Rising.

The discussion ranged from how to identify “super volunteers,” identifying what volunteers want out of their service, and what sorts of best practices managers can follow to encourage repeat volunteerism.