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So Lim becomes the first Asian American woman elected to the Fairfax City Council

Last night, voters in Fairfax City, VA elected six members of their City Council, including So Lim, who becomes the first Asian American woman to serve on that body. Convergence was proud to work in partnership with the Lim campaign to produce four pieces of direct mail targeted at city voters, helping seal a narrow victory in a “pick-six” election with many candidates.

Previously, Convergence worked to elect Fairfax Mayor David Meyer, who was re-elected to a second term last night without opposition.

So was a tireless campaigner, who’s victory demonstrates the power of grassroots campaigning, especially in local elections. A big congratulations to So and her entire campaign team!

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In Nashville, Convergence Brings Home Two Pollies

Last week, the American Association of Political Consultants hosted their annual conference and awards show, the Pollies. Convergence is proud to have been awarded twice.

“People,” our barrel-folding novelty piece for Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley, won the Gold Pollie for Mayoral mail, after winning a corresponding Reed Award earlier this year.  You can see the piece unfold below:

We also won a bittersweet Silver Pollie for our work on the state legislative special election of Hillary Shields. The piece in question educated Democratic and progressive-minded Independent voters on the true partisanship of a supposed Independent candidate in a three-way election for the State Senate, using a short fold and a circus elephant to make our point. Unfortunately, our campaign fell short of victory — but we were very proud to work alongside the rest of the Shields campaign team, and Hillary herself, and we’re proud to be recognized for our work.

Convergence’s award-winning work from every year since our founding can be seen here.

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The Conversation You Need To Have With Your Campaign Manager

This post by Nick Mildebrath originally ran as a column at Campaigns & Elections.

As a candidate, hiring a campaign manager will be one of the most important decisions you make. It can make the difference between a successful campaign and one that languishes, and, ultimately, loses. When considering a prospective manager, many candidates focus on technical qualifications or professional reputation, but by doing this, they’re missing a key element of a successful candidate/manager relationship.

Again and again, we’ve worked with candidates who are frustrated that their managers are “too demanding” or “not proactive enough,” when in fact, their managers don’t clearly understand their candidate’s expectations. This disconnect doesn’t just lead to personal frustration — it leads to budgeting and scheduling mistakes, embarrassing messaging missteps, and bogged-down processes that will affect your campaign’s smooth operation and eat up your valuable time.

The most frustrating aspect of this phenomenon is that it’s completely avoidable. There are many different models for a successful relationship between a candidate, a manager, and a consulting team, but the common ingredient in all of them is a clearly defined, mutually agreed-upon definition of the manager’s role, and the right time to clarify the role of the campaign manager is before you hire them. Continue reading “The Conversation You Need To Have With Your Campaign Manager”

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CTC client Kwame Raoul wins tough Illinois primary

Major congratulations are in order this morning for the newly-minted Democratic nominee for Illinois Attorney, along with his entire campaign team. Kwame Raoul won last night’s hard-fought, wide-open primary to become his party’s nominee for Attorney General, defeating a former Governor and six other challengers. Convergence helped the Raoul campaign communicate with primary voters in downstate Illinois as part of a successful effort to bolster his support across the entire state. We were proud to be a part of this winning team!

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Convergence Clients Win Big in Texas Primaries

A big congratulations to two CTC clients, both of whom have reasons to cheer after last night’s historic primary election in Texas.

Laura Moser LogoAs Democrats across Texas shattered primary turnout records and look towards an historically competitive election in November, Convergence client Laura Moser will advance to a May 22 runoff in the competitive Democratic primary election for Texas’ Seventh Congressional District. Laura is a Houston native, longtime activist, and first-time candidate. She fits her district and the energy of the 2018 cycle, and Convergence is proud to count her as a client.

Beverly Powell LogoIn Tarrant County, Beverly Powell won her primary for Texas’ Tenth State Senate District — the district formerly held by Wendy Davis. While it’s currently in Republican hands, this seat will be one of the most critical state legislative races in Texas in November. We’re excited at the opportunity to win that seat for the Democrats, and congratulate Beverly and her whole team on a great campaign.

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Convergence Continues to Win at the Reed Awards

Convergence Targeted Communications has continued our hot streak of award-winning Democratic mayoral mail with our recent Reed Award for Best Mail Piece for a Democratic Mayoral Campaign. This marks the third year in a row Convergence has won awards for the Best Mail Piece in a Mayoral Campaign.

We were thrilled to help Gavin Buckley defeat the incumbent Mayor of Annapolis, MD. Voters affirmed  his vision for the city and the positive approach he took with his campaign. This mailer, with its positive and uplifting theme, featured artwork created by the Convergence team. Gavin’s campaign received tons of buzz for this piece and ultimately defeated the Republican incumbent mayor in a landslide.