Labor Day is approaching. In addition to the start of a new school year, Labor Day is also when local campaigns will start to heat up in anticipation of the November elections.

The Keystone Campaigns blog is a useful sourcebook for ideas if you’re a municipal or regional candidate running in your first election. As an example, see the recent post “Five Rules for Candidates.” I especially endorse the second section about making use of the local party. As an active committeeman and a former campaign manager for a local candidate, I know how essential the network of these local experts is for managing your ground game.

Candidates in our ward don’t need to circulate their own petitions. They don’t have to recruit poll staffing or figure out how to collect election night results. I can place a big stack of yard signs in local yards in one afternoon, or organize a letter stuffing party or lit drop. If you’re walking the ward, I can speed your door-to-door efforts by a considerable amount.