Signs and Portents

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Here Come Da Judge ...and it is you":

I have something quite silly - I think
This morning , out of the blue [ we had never discussed politics ], a neighbour announced that Jane Twinney was going to win that election.
Puzzled, I asked why he was so certain.
He looked at me as if I was a bit dim.
" She has a great picture on her signs ! Haven't you seen them ? "
I would like to think he might be correct, but cannot fathom the thinking.

Posted by Anonymous to Our Town and Its Business at 18 May 2014 13:14

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Nit at all silly. Your neighbor is right on the money.

A campaign needs a business plan.  An organization needs expertise.

Funds need to be raised. Rules understood. Priorities must be set. 

Spending is limited by regulations.  Best practice employed.  

Planning may be private but a campaign is a very public affair.

Voters with experience  perhaps subconsciously, notice a campaign. They expect a campaign.
They rate the campaign.

Voters who may not think they have  expertise  have more than they think.

Far  more than would-be if they could-be-politicians think they do.

How do they judge ?  By what they see.

First they saw Liberal lawn signs on major corners.My daughter says they were council campaign signs.  I'm not  sure about that.  But they were small signs.

 Jane Twinney's  Conservative signs appeared  at the week-end.  .They were conservative dark blue , two  and a half times larger and right size.  Strategically placed alongside  small Liberal  signs they offered comparison and choice.

This week-end, Liberal corner  signs are larger but poorly designed.

Blank white space fills a corner.

Blank space suggests empty.   Empty white space  conveys nothing .

A  large handsome portrait of Jane Twinney took up at least a third of new Conservative signs.

The gaze is straightforward ,the smile confident.

The signs are distributed further afield.

Signs with photos cost more.  In a campaign with sufficient resources, it's  the best.

The impression is superior style and content.

Signs with empty, white space are not impressive.

It bespeaks a lack of expertise, resources, good management and support.

Both  candidates are one=term Councillors in Newmarket and Aurora.

My impression  is  Councillor Twinney  has acquitted herself well. If she has enemies within Council they are not obvious. Whether or not she writes a Blog or tweets,I am not aware.

Councillor Ballard on the other hand tweets and writes a blog. His profession is journalism.

He regularly tweets uncomplimentary comments about  various colleagues.

His latest faux pas is to inform residents,if they need help in his absence, they should contact
Councillors Gaertner and Gallo.

Pointed dis-respect for the Council to which he was elected  almost four years ago.And by
extrapolation ,of the people who elected them.

I believe most colleagues are Liberals.

It's fair to say  neither major party is enjoying public confidence.

There is anger and despair abroad.

In the circumstance, this race  is between two candidates.

A good-looking woman's picture on a sign is important.  It endorses the campaign and the candidate There's nothing silly here.

It's a biggie.