punditry.ca — uncovering DSU elections

Elections happen every year at the DSU. Each year there are winners and losers. With this frequency, and the number of candidates in the running, there is no shortage of opinion on how to run an effective campaign and how to win.

Having been successful in two elections, working on the elections committee, and watching far too many races to still be in my undergrad, I have some thoughts to share on how to stroll to electoral victory.

If there is one undeniable fact about elections at the DSU it is this:

The candidates who are most likely to win are already in the best position to do so well before the campaign has begun.

We know that incumbency has traditionally been an irrevocable ticket back to Council Chambers. After all, the campaign period is only one week.
If you run for the same position, and you’ve managed not to get impeached, the sage voters take that as a sure sign you’re the proper person for the job. If you work for a year on the executive and manage not to throw anyone under the bus, spew diatribes in or at council, or resort to slander on page four of the Gazette, I’d say chances are they’re right.

Viewing this objectively, and with more than a modicum of personal experience, there are a few things incumbents possess that easily explain this phenomenon.

First, incumbents have been through an election before. What’s more, they’ve been successful. They know the rigours of preparing posters and other campaign materials, and how to perform well in a debate (I say this because nobody ever says anything substantive enough to win; they just manage to look and sound better than their opponent on a given subject). Incumbents understand what makes for an effective class talk and which classes are most important to speak in. The rules laid out in candidates’ café are a refresher course for them. A functional knowledge is necessary but it is probably the most accessible component to putting together a win at the polls for any candidate, incumbent or otherwise.

Second, and more importantly, incumbents have had a year to prove to people that they can do the job. They have the DSU council experience that is essential. The personal relationships formed in a year on council are what drive the insider vote, which I think I’ve managed to convince almost everyone is the only reliable predictor of waltzing past the post first (I understand that the DSU uses preferential ballot, but that was more eloquent).

Working with societies and involved volunteers, taking part in Orientation Week with the rapt attention of thousands of freshmen, and being profiled in campus news outlets and other local media all work in favour of those who have cut their teeth in Room 222 of the SUB. Outsider candidates can only reasonably expect to bring a few insiders to their side, if they can sway any, once the official candidate list is made known.

Finally, these races are about policies and positions for the interested few. In each race when it comes to capturing the attention of Joe and Jane Undeclared, no matter the position, it is about who you know and not what you know. I’ve worked at polling stations and can confidently say most people who don’t vote in the first 24 hours of balloting have no idea who you are or what you stand for. Some will take the time to do their research online once they’ve heard about the campaign and a volunteer has urged them to vote. Far more will vote for a couple of the positions where they recognize the photo of the candidate or have been told “(s)he’s a good dude(tte)” by a friend. None have openly admitted to voting purely based on looks.

You may be wondering: what does this mean for me if I’m not an incumbent?

First it means I hope you’re not running against one. Secondly it means there are candidates in the race who probably have all the same qualities, and they’re already beating you.

There are candidates each year who have aspired to a position on the DSU executive and worked toward that goal every day since they set foot on campus. If they are a decent person and a hard worker, chances are they have cultivated a public image on campus in any combination of roles. I call these people incumbent lites.

I would never argue that these candidates are owed anything, but with less than a month to go before the next executive team is chosen anyone else has a lot of catching up to do.

The best prepared candidates have the same relationships, the same exposure, and been part of the same culture as any incumbent can claim for at least the last year. If they are anything like me they probably wrote their campaign speech over Christmas vacation. They’ve talked to influential peers and have tested their theories on what issues students care about most. They know who their supporters will be, and they know what issues are their strengths.

Unrefined public opinion gathering is one of the most astute tactics of campaign organizing and it’s perfectly acceptable for it to occur before 8:00am on the Monday of campaign week.

Incumbents and incumbent lites have a distinct advantage in the coming weeks. It hasn’t been official, but they’ve been campaigning all along.

Just for fun: voter turnout will be 16.3%

Rob LeForte is a former two-term DSU Executive. He wrote this on a Friday night.