O.K., peanut gallery, fire away! Here's my new poster for the Madison Central School Board campaign:
Your graphic design and policy critiques are welcome, as are your offers to print and share with your neighbors!
Submitted for Your Approval: Heidelberger School Board Campaign Poster
Instead of a side profile, show your smile!
I agree!
I wish I lived there Cory, I'd vote for you in a heartbeat!
Graphic design ideas: Reverse type (dark rectangles with white print) to break up the composition at headline -- perhaps your name -- so it stands out. With your theme of looking at things from all angles, I can understand the profile picture and the words creating the border from all sides ... but would maybe break things up with a picture and small type underneath -- so message is visual and then supported with type underneath. (The pictures or illustrations supporting the all angles.) While I wish people would spend time reading your accomplishments, we live in a attention deficient world where some might not sit and read everything.
Wishing you the very best and hope you are voted in. You'll be excellent, thoughtful, and keep kids as the priority.
I like this much information. But I am not average. I do really believe that the one liner campaigns get to much credit. They only work if the one liner and the political situation and the candidate are all an exact match. Then a oneliner is all that is needed. But people are really more complicated than that. Your best advertisement is the years you spent in that community and what people already know about you. When your add matches you is more important at giving you credibility than if they read the whole thing.
I'm going to ask THE question: Will you drag every school board discussion onto the Madville Times blog to push your point of view?
{CAH: Actually, I may create a whole separate blog dedicated strictly to school board affairs. Whether it's here or there, I'll certainly discuss public matters online to pull other points of view from voters into the discussion.}
Cory, your intelligence is unmatched. Your ability to argue and debate is well proven. My only concern is whether you can work with fellow board members who will disagree with you, whether you can work with administrators and educators who won't always support your platform. You tend to be extreme and assertive in an effort to win any discussion or debate on topics you're passionate about. With a board of seven people of varying personalities, it is hard to accept the results of a vote that goes against what you believe. You always have to support the final decision whether you agree or not. No grudges, no blog rants. It may be difficult to negotiate teacher's salaries or benefits as a board member when you were once an educator in the district. It's not always a pleasant task. I think back to when you and Mr. Dirks had your altercation at the library a couple of years ago. Verbally berating an elderly fellow board member for over a half hour in public at your current age and maturity? That's a tough pill to swallow and does not fly at any level. What would you have done if Mr. Dirks had dropped dead of a heart attack from the stress of arguing with you? You've shown a lack of tolerance for those who think differently than you. I'm not saying you're a bad person, but I'm certainly concerned about whether you've matured and grown into being able to work within a group without always having to dominate the group or exploding if the decisions are not in your favor. Other than that, nice poster.
{CAH: Hmm... I've been on the Lake County Water Quality Committee for over a year, and I've disagreed pretty strongly with various people in the room. No punches, nasty blog rants, or heart attacks yet. If that's your only concern, I'm winning your vote! (For the record, the incident to which you refer? Ten minutes, max, with Mr. Dirks dishing out as much as I did, just more quietly. And I apologized publicly.)}
Part of the problem is that no one seems to disagree during the board meetings we have attended. There is little if any discussion on any issue, not even on the school board renovation/gym proposal, even after we testified with some reasons why this proposal was not the best that could be offered. I think the school district would be better served by having a little more discussion and disagreement/debate on issues rather than just acceptance of an idea and telling the entire board they have to get behind something and push it.
Too wordy!
I'm with those who say you have to lose the picture. Too profile!
The poster itself looks a little busy to me. Don't be afraid of some white space.
For example, I don't think you'd hurt much to remove the two phrases above your name. Move your name closer to the top and leave some white space around it. Just my two cents.
Too wordy and you definitely need to include a picture of you actually looking at the camera. Maybe, if you are opposed to it, one of you and your kiddos. I think that people know you too much as Cory the blog rant guy and not so much as Cory the dad of school-aged kids. That might, um, soften you a smidge. ;)
I'm liking these comments—keep 'em coming! Brett, excellent work embodying your advice in the length of your comment. :-)
Megan, I did use my daughter in a campaign ad in 2008. Mr. Gunderson has already gone the family-photo route in the first MDL ad. It's a good marketing tack... but I feel just a little hesitant to do it again this year myself. I do indeed have an extremely cute kid... but once we get done sharing pictures, we have a very serious budget problem to address.
Get rid of the cap. At least you don't have it on backwards.
As others have said get a smiling shot face-n and lighten it up a bit. Direct sentences. Not sure so much red in a campaign ad is a good idea.
Good Luck whatever. Maybe stress "Informed commonsense and consideration of all options."
I like all the facts and figures, but I too think it's too wordy. And I also prefer the "full frontal" face picture, not just the profile.
Just sayin'. :)
BTW - best of luck, Cory!
Are you going to wear the cap at school board meetings if you are elected?
No cap at meetings, promise. I don't even wear my hat in the building. But I'm envisioning the headline: "Heidelberger Goes Full Frontal in Campaign Ad..." yikes! ;-)