Bridging Politics and PR: Lessons Learned from a Presidential Visit

Three of Southwest Florida's political insiders shared their insights at FPRA's local chapter luncheon on Tuesday, May 4th at the Broadway Palm in Fort Myers: Sharon Harrington, Tammy Hall and Will Prather. This is the third of three posts reviewing their presentations.

Lee County Democratic Chairman Will Prather is a successful businessman and supporter of the arts in Lee County.  He's well-versed and comfortable in working with the media through many years of leading community events and business development at the Prather Family of Theatres.

Just as the 2000 election changed the face of how we physically cast our votes, it changed Prather's outlook on the importance of every vote in such a close race.  Inspired by Howard Dean during the 2004 election, Prather publicly declared his political leanings, became involved in the Democratic party and published daily reports from the Boston convention.  Despite receiving negative feedback and even cancellations from customers in this traditionally Republican area, he continued to stand strong in supporting candidates he believed in, including heading the Southwest Florida campaign for Barack Obama in the 2008 election, and shortly thereafter became Chairman of the Lee County Democratic Party.

He recalled several instances where the original intent or "story" of an event was lost when the media grabbed onto a controversy instead.  During the 2008 election cycle, there were several notable visits to the local area... by Michelle Obama, Joe Biden and Sarah Palin.  However, what garnered the most media coverage was Sheriff Mike Scott's use of Barack Hussein Obama's full name during the Sarah Palin rally.  This totally overshadowed the candidates' visits and messages and dominated the news cycle, even making it to the national news.

Prather's best (and worst) political experience began with a phone call from the White House Political Affairs Office letting him know that newly-elected President Obama was planning a visit to Fort Myers.  It was a challenging experience working with the White House staffers on this event because of coordination, communication and crowds!  Unbeknownst to Prather, Robert Gibbs unintentionally mentioned the visit to Fort Myers during a press briefing, unleashing a media frenzy several days prior to the planned announcement of the visit.  The low point of the event came with the ticket distribution, when there were only a limited number of tickets available and Prather knew that anyone arriving after 2am to get in line would likely not get a ticket.  As the crowds grew (and grew restless) outside Harborside Convention Center, the White House staffers' instructions, there were no announcements made.  Prather was basically forbidden from addressing the crowd or the media regarding the ticket situation.  Very frustrated and worried about the crowd getting out of control, he took matters into his own hands and arranged to meet the press behind Harborside to clarify any misconceptions regarding ticket distribution.  Needless to say, the White House staffers were not pleased about Prather going against protocol.  Although he succeeded in disseminating more accurate information to the public and avoiding a riotous situation, he was not rewarded by staffers with what they call the "pull back" -- the opportunity afterward to be pulled aside and thanked personally for his efforts by the President. 

Continuing the discussion, Prather also mentioned the challenges of working within a party-driven organization with official talking points, rules and even loyalty oaths.  These often present obstacles to effective public relations during political campaigns.  He also stressed awareness of the social media effects of partisan politics, when your views are publicized online and open the gates to criticism -- from all sides -- regarding who you "friend" and what you say or do.

... Be sure to check out the other two related posts about the presentations given by Tammy Hall and Sharon Harrington on the topic of "Bridging Politics and PR".

Bridging Politics and PR: A Candidate's Perspective

Lee County Commissioner Tammy Hall comes from a marketing background, having owned her own agency in downtown Fort Myers prior to her career as an elected official.  Hall shared her insights and experiences with campaigning and holding public offices in Fort Myers and Lee County government at the FPRA luncheon on May 4th at the Broadway Palm.

Hall explained that there are vast differences between running in a city council, single-member district race and county-wide, at-large, party-affiliated race.   Those differences not only include budget and geographic/demographic scope, but also the dynamics.  The city council race required door-to-door contact with voters, and a small budget to cover a small geographic area, whereas the candidacy for county commissioner required a much larger budget, advertising campaign and navigation of partisan politics.

In becoming the first female county commissioner in many years, Hall had to overcome gender stigmas and stereotypes of her predecessors, several of which had been involved in scandals.  She also had to deal with attempts to smear her reputation.  At one point, someone hacked into her AOL account and set up a very promiscuous profile.   Thanks to a consistent reputation, and strong relationships with the local reporters and assignment editors, she was given the benefit of advance phone calls and the story was either downplayed or not reported at all, in most cases.  When the same person/group also sent an email blast accusing her of questionable activities, the media chose not to cover it - mainly due to the credibility she had built.

Hall encourages candidates to always act with integrity and character (including online), and to keep open lines of communication with the media.

This is one of three posts covering the presentations at the May 4th meeting.  Be sure to check out the recaps of Will Prather's and Sharon Harrington's presentations, too!

Bridging Politics and PR: Elections Office Public Outreach

Three of Southwest Florida's political insiders shared their insights at FPRA's local chapter luncheon on Tuesday, May 4th at the Broadway Palm in Fort Myers: Sharon Harrington, Tammy Hall and Will Prather. This is the first of three posts reviewing their presentations.

Lee County Supervisor of Elections Sharon Harrington discussed how legislative changes in the election process over the years have impacted the way her office communicates with voters.  Some of those pieces of legislation include the National Voter Rights Act of 1965 which outlawed discriminatory voter practices and the 1993 National Voter Registration Act (a.k.a. "motor voter") whereby those registering to vote no longer had to do so in person.  Both of these Acts required the elections office to shift the way they communicate with voters.

Another national political event which caused a PR firestorm, and many changes in the election process was the November 2000 election, which Harrington called, "the election that will never go away." The notorious butterfly ballot, which was necessary due to the number of local elections in several counties was approved by both parties, and everyone involved in the process.  Despite that, it caused confusion among the voters.  The ensuing recount debacle in Palm Beach County spurred the Help America Vote Act in 2002, which caused changes in the physical process of voting by eliminating punch cards and lever systems.  The Lee County Elections Office rolled out electronic voting machines, requiring a major educational push for employees, poll workers and the general public.  Shortly thereafter, the Florida Legislature outlawed the electronic voting systems, causing the change to an optical system.  Two entirely different voting systems over the course of just a few years was a challenge, but the Elections Office's public outreach efforts helped the transitions go smoothly.

One last piece of PR advice Harrington had was aimed at candidates -- stay away from negative campaigning.  In her experience, she's seen how rather than hurting the opponent, it works against the person spreading the negativity. Candidates should stick to the issues and facts about themselves, and also steer clear of potentially embarrassing situations.

...Be sure to check out our other meeting recaps on the presentations at this meeting by Will Prather and Tammy Hall.

FPRA's May meeting to focus on Politics & PR

The Southwest Florida Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Tuesday, May 4th luncheon program from 11:30am to 1:00 p.m. at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre in Fort Myers focuses on “Bridging Politics and Public Relations”. Learn from three of our area’s savviest political pros as they share their insights on the role public relations plays in shaping Southwest Florida’s political landscape. Lee County Commissioner Tammy Hall, Lee County Supervisor of Elections Sharon Harrington and Lee County Democratic Party Chairman Will Prather will discuss their experiences (both good and bad) with PR in politics and trends they see emerging in the 2010 elections season.

Lee County Commissioner Tammy Hall – Ms. Hall was elected to the Board of County Commissioners in 2004 and became the first woman to serve as chairwoman of the commission in 2005. Prior to her election to the Board of County Commissioners, she served as Ward 1 City Councilwoman for the City of Fort Myers.

Lee County Supervisor of Elections Sharon Harrington – Ms. Harrington has served as Supervisor of Elections since 2004, when she was appointed by former Gov. Jeb Bush to fulfill the unexpired term of retiring supervisor Philinda Young in 2004. She ran unopposed for election in 2008. Sharon has worked in the Elections office since 1989 and has worked previously as a fiscal officer, human resources director and assistant supervisor. 

Lee County Democratic Party Chairman Will Prather – Mr. Prather is an active leader in the Democratic Party including heading local campaign efforts on behalf of presidential candidate Barack Obama, and was elected chair of the Lee County Democratic Party following the presidential election. In addition to his political efforts, he is Executive Producer for the multi-state Prather Family of Theatres which includes the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre.

The cost to attend FPRA’s May luncheon meeting is $18 for members, $25 for non-members and $10 for students.  Walk-ins are welcome for an additional fee. For more reservations or information, visit http://www.fpraswfl.org/.