School Board Candidate Wins on Transparency & Accountability

Newly elected school board member Joe Nolen of McLoud, OK, had never run for public office.  He had never directed a campaign.  He had never even volunteered for someone else’s campaign.   The term “political newcomer” would not even begin to describe him.

But Joe Nolen was tired of the school board in his town constantly spending more money than they had on hand and running up budget deficits.  So he decided to do something about it.  Joe Nolen decided to run for school board.

I met with Joe Nolan in the middle of January – a little over a month from election day.  I sat down in his living room with him and his wife, and we talked about what it meant to run for public office, the effort it was going to take, and the uphill climb it was going to be for him to be victorious.  Joe understood this because he confessed his fear in going against a 3 term, 15 year incumbent – one who had never been challenged before and who also had more money and more name recognition than Joe.  He told me this entire scenario made him quite nervous.

But that night we discussed various campaign strategies, practical and simple ideas to overcome his multiple deficiencies, and a clear path that he believed would win him his election.

In the end Joe was going to run on three ideas: transparency, accountability, and fiscal responsibility.  These were the elements he believed were missing from the McLoud School Board, and these are the words he would use with every single person he spoke with during the campaign.

By the end of that night, Joe was determined and motivated to out-work his opponent by running a smarter and more organized campaign.  He was also excited to use the tools and resources American Majority had provided him to help in his effort.  But he was on his own until election day, and I was curious about what the result would be.

Yesterday, after a month of putting out yard signs, developing and implementing a micro-targeting goal, walking his entire city, and in the end even employing a small army for his GOTV effort, Joe Nolen defeated his incumbent opponent by a margin of 65% to 35%.  Due in large part to Joe’s efforts, the voter turnout was higher than he, or anyone else, had expected.

In talking to Joe after his victory, he confessed he knew he had won his election the weekend before the vote because of the work he had done and the organized campaign he had put together.  He also told me that he was surprised that the margin of victory wasn’t higher.

As our conversation wound down Joe expressed his appreciation for me driving out to his house that night and helping him achieve his goal.  He sincerely and honestly thanked American Majority for the resources, ideas, and encouragement we offered him as a newcomer in the world of local politics.

But best of all, he was excited, motivated, and ready to get started as the newest member of the McLoud School Board.