Here’s the third of three preliminary posts on the Nosek-Kienbaum race for an at-large Common Council seat. I posted previously on Kienbaum’s advantages, Nosek’s opportunity to win despite them, and now offer remarks on Kienbaum’s best strategy for her (likely) victory. (Quick, obvious declaration – I support neither of these candidates.)
- Avoid Debate. Nosek would easily over-match Kienbaum in any debate between the two, every single time, were it not for his unfortunate tendency to overplay his hand. If Kienbaum could be assured of provoking Nosek, reliably at each encounter, there might be some value in debating him. It’s not enough, though, to hope that Nosek’s over-bearing manner will express itself to his detriment. He’s just much more adept, and even people who dislike his positions can see as much. Kienbaum’s best bet – one debate, softball forum, limited coverage, little public notice.
- Flyers/Campaign Statements with Substantive Positions. If Kienbaum’s not as strong as Nosek in a public forum, she can certainly appear as substantive and well-versed on paper. Anyone can, really. She is, after all, a contributor to the Whitewater Register, and if she can write for that fine publication, then she can put some words on paper that convey a serious understanding of the issues. Well, I suppose…
- Students. Don’t just gather student support – you have it! – make it a real issue of Nosek’s judgment. Use student spokespeople who are serious, dedicated, and can calmly declare that Nosek’s rhetoric is over-over—over-heated (death knell, neighborhoods where people still live being dead, etc.). Appear reasonable by contrast. How hard can it be?
- Community Charitable Activities. People vote on what they believe to be true, not the truth itself. Mention a few items from your CV, and that’s all you’ll need. If anyone questions you about the effectiveness of your community service, express outrage that anyone might question anything about you. What’s the point of being a long-tenured resident, if not to deflect the very questions that one so shamelessly hurls at others?
- The Status Quo Yes, yes, Dr. Nosek seems to represent a more traditional, back-to-basics Whitewater. That’s nonsense, though – only one candidate can be the true guardian of the past, revived and enshrined, eternally, as the present. Whitewater (old, stodgy Whitewater) loves the idea of an Unchanging Status Quo. Kienbaum must see that Nosek’s ordinance-enforcing vision is quite radical in its own way. However often he waxes nostalgic about an earlier Whitewater, Nosek doesn’t want containment, so to speak, he wants roll-back to an earlier time. He’s a dissenter from the status quo, one he often thinks has gone terribly wrong.
Whitewater prefers, strongly, a traditionalist over a dissenter.
Kienbaum should play up her careful public reputation as more moderate, traditional, and less doctrinaire than Nosek. More than anything else, it makes her seem a safer choice for the city. (Had Nosek been more light-hearted, more subtle, these last two years, Kienbaum would be vulnerable in this race. In his bombast Nosek gave a hostage to Fortune, and to Kienbaum, too.)
It’s Kienbaum’s race to lose, owing mostly to vulnerabilities in Nosek’s candidacy that she can exploit.