Campaign school planned for candidates
Officeholders will discuss experiences
People who might want to try their hand at politics can learn what it takes to get elected at a one-day campaign school next month.
Four organizations are teaming up to sponsor the annual event, a non-partisan training seminar on the essentials of running for elected office. It is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 2, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the fifth floor of Brennan Hall at the University of Scranton. The snow date is Saturday, Feb. 9.
"We've been doing this for quite a long time now," said Andrea Mulrine, president of the League of Women Voters of Lackawanna County, one of the co-sponsoring groups. The others are WNEP-TV, the League of Women Voters of Monroe County and the University of Scranton political science department.
The school will examine:
- What factors candidates should consider before running
- How to raise money
- How to organize volunteers
- What paperwork is necessary to get on the ballot, and after that
- How to run a campaign that can win.
"What are the things that normally trips a candidate up?" Mrs. Mulrine said in describing the seminar.
The speakers will include:
- Marion Medalis, Lackawanna County director of elections.
- Elizabeth Randol, a former candidate for county commissioner who also managed campaigns.
- Phil Condron, president of Condron & Co., which produces campaign advertising.
- Kristen Yarmy, digital services librarian at the University of Scranton, who will discuss using social media such as Twitter and Facebook.
The session will feature a panel of officeholders talking about their campaign experiences. The panel will include state Sen. John Blake, D-22, Archbald, county Judge Margaret Bisignani Moyle and Abington Heights School Board President Cathy Ann Hardaway.
"We think it's really important to let people know that running for office is no big mystique, that there's ways to get it done and to encourage people that 'This is something I might want to do,'â" Mrs. Mulrine said. "It's also about encouraging people who want to help people run for office."
Mrs. Mulrine said the sessions attract about 60 people from across the region.
"I think we get a mix of everybody in the room," she said. "We've had people who've run in the past and are looking for new hints. We've had people who have never run before and are looking just to get their feet in. We've had people who are just barely thinking about starting to run for office and they come to learn things."
The deadline to register is Monday. The cost is $35, but $25 for league members and $15 for students. It includes materials and a continental breakfast.
Registration may be done online at lwvlackawanna.org or by mailing a check payable to the League of Women Voters of Lackawanna County, P.O. Box 43, Scranton, PA 18501.
Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com