A $0 political action to help you lobby this election season for transit & bikes
No campaign contributions necessary!
As I posted on TikTok, we are in election primary season and that opens doors for bike, transit, and street safety advocates across the country. Below is a step-by-step guide for one of my favorite actions that an activist can do during the primary season and one of the best parts is it’s free! But first, let’s talk about money in politics.
Money in politics is a huge deal and the gobs of money that corporations put into the political process distort our democracy. That probably isn’t a new thing for you to read, but I want to pull on that thread a little more. The reason why political donations are powerful in shaping politicians’ actions is because a politician’s campaign can spend money to reach voters. Money doesn’t literally buy elections– it buys voter outreach & persuasion.
If you can help a candidate directly connect with voters and potentially persuade them, then that’s better than money. Think of money as the middleman when it comes to voter outreach. When you organize voters directly you cut out the middleman of money in an election. This is a key part of what “people power” means. That brings us to today’s action–
“The Candidate Meet & Greet”
A “Candidate Meet & Greet” (or house party) is a gathering where the host (you) gets a bunch of voters together to meet a candidate for office at a dedicated event. It helps the candidate connect with voters, it helps your attendees learn more about the candidate and it gives voters an opportunity to voice their demands. It also helps you elevate an issue you care about and/or a candidate you support since you’re the host!
Election primary season is a key time to organize these since primaries often have lots of candidates competing to make it to the general election. During a primary, especially a crowded one, candidates all need help breaking away from the pack. Additionally, primaries tend to have lower voter turnout so each voter’s influence is proportionally higher. Finally, the earlier you host your event before the primary or general election, the further upstream you are in time which allows for the event’s influence to extend further. Who knows, maybe your attendees will become supporters or volunteers who will go on to shape other voters throughout the election season!
So, let’s look at how to organize a successful Candidate Meet & Greet as a bike, transit, or street safety activist.
Step 0) Find a friend or ally to co-host this with you. The more people involved in the organizing, the more people you’ll have at the event. But don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good– you can always add a co-host later on if folks want. The important thing is to hold the event sooner rather than later and that might mean starting off on your own.
Step 1) Pick the candidate(s) you want to invite. You can host one or a series of meet & greets, but make sure to only pick candidates whose chances to get elected you want to elevate. Do NOT invite a candidate you dislike in hopes to sway them (there are other tactics for that).
Step 2) Logistics: reach out to the candidate and invite them to a Candidate Meet and Greet– coordinate with them on scheduling. Once a date and time is set, find a venue. Bars with outdoor space tend to be free to use, easy to reserve (or not require a reservation!) and have a relaxed atmosphere which works well for the event. You can host it at your home but that requires cleaning, providing refreshments, a higher COVID risk, and in general I find it more stressful.
Step 3) Promote the heck out of it to the folks that you want to show up. This part is crucial– this is how you make the event what you want to make it. If you’re a bike advocate, get as many of your fellow bike riders to come out to the event and ask bike policy & infrastructure-related questions. Want better transit? Bring as many fellow transit supporters to the event and you’ll get good conversations on transit. Most candidates do not have particularly thorough platforms about transit, biking or street safety. But if you put a candidate in front of a group of transportation advocates, the candidate will come up with a platform pretty quickly! Also– your local bike or transit advocacy group may not be allowed to engage in direct electoral work, but your hands aren’t as tied, so you doing this can be a big help.
Step 4) Keep promoting! How many people you need to have at the event for it to be a success depends on the size of your community and how much time you have before the election. Fortunately, Candidate Meet & Greets during the primary season can be successful with only a dozen or so people– but more is better. Your attendees don’t all need to be bike or transit advocates, so expand the invite.
Step 5) Host the event. When your people and the candidate have settled in, greet the crowd and say a few words about the candidate and why you invited them to meet folks. If you hate public speaking, you can have a co-host do this part. Then have the candidate say a few words and turn it over to Q&A. After that’s done, thank everyone for coming out and then hang out for a bit while folks trickle out.
Step 6) The next day, send a follow up to the attendees and the candidate thanking them for coming out.
And there you have it! A free & relatively easy way to elevate the bike, transit, and street safety topics you care about during this election season.
Want help to devise a strategy and build the skills in your campaign for better transit and or safer streets? I’m here to help! Whether you want a 1-on-1 training session or a group workshop, let’s talk. Email me at Carter@carterlavin.com to set something up. Here’s a bit about what training sessions are like.
Free upcoming IN-PERSON (outdoor) events in Oakland!
Come meet some of my favorite candidates for California State Senate District 7!
12/10 with Kathryn Lybarger
Interested in sponsoring the training of an activist working on an issue you’re passionate about? Let’s chat. Carter@carterlavin.com