Jeff Bergosh Blog: Sixteen Months Part 2

Guidelines

I am one member of a five person board. The opinions I express on this forum are mine only, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Escambia County Staff, Administrators, Employees, or anyone else associated with Escambia County Florida. I am interested in establishing this blog as a means of additional transparency to the public, outreach to the community, and information dissemination to all who choose to look. Feedback is welcome, but because public participation is equally encouraged, appropriate language and decorum is mandatory. Although this is not my campaign site for re-election--sometimes campaign related information will be discussed, therefore in an abundance of caution I add the following :

Friday, September 9, 2016

Sixteen Months Part 2

District 1 School Board Candidate Kevin Adams and I in the fall of 2015, Campaigning in the southern part of District 1, door to door

Beginning a campaign more than a year away from the election date takes a lot of planning, stamina, and energy. On July 7th, 2015, I pre-filed to run for the county commission seat that would be decided 16 months later, on November 8th, 2016. 16 months. To run an election like this with multiple worthy opponents required discipline and determination. Here is how we have run the campaign thus far...

WHO THE PLAYERS IN THIS ELECTION MIGHT BE...

I knew Jesse Casey was running, and I suspected that Karen Sindel would run. I also heard about a deputy sheriff and a local architect that had considered running. I knew the players and the potential candidates so felt I had a good shot at winning, and the more participants the better--as I had a little name recognition that would play to my advantage going forward. So, after putting in for the position, I started going door to door, every weekend and after work in the afternoons. Door to Door is powerful.

THE TEAM

I teamed up with two friends that were running along side me in District 1 for two different offices; Kevin Adams decided to run for my school board seat, and our good friend Jim Faxlanger decided to run for the ECUA board seat. So, although it was unconventional, we decided to team up for the campaign, to leverage our resources and create a force multiplier. So after we all met our petition requirements, we began to move through the neighborhoods and streets in District 1-together. Our initial strategy we coined as "Carpet-Bombing." We would go to every house in a neighborhood,

with our messages and an encouragement to vote in the primary and if not registered to vote-- to do so before the primary. Our message was that the primary election was important for property owners, moreso than the national elections. Many people told us they did not vote in the primaries, which was somewhat disheartening. But we carried on and we met a lot of great people in District 1.

SUMMER TURNS TO WINTER...

We started out in earnest in August of 2015. It was hot, and within the first few weeks I knew I was in for a lonnnnnnggggg year. But meeting people, talking to people in their neighborhoods, gave me a really unique insight into what was going on in District 1. This gave me a competitive advantage over my opponents, as it was never really evident to me that they were going door to door. I learned a lot, and quickly realized what the important issues in District 1 were. And this knowledge would propel my campaign's message going forward for the next 16 months.