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Rating: 
Summary: A "must" for Campaign Managers
Review: For first time campaigns or re-elections, this book is a "must" for it's detailed check lists of the "campaign process". This book will keep even the most experienced Campaign Manager from overlooking any of the detailed implementations which must take place for a winning campaign. If you use it, it will force you to start the process on time and prevent some of the "panics" that a lack of planning creates. It's time phase scheduling is excellent. Where "part-time-amateur-volunteers" are the campaign's "people resource", I would recommend doubling all the time recommendations.
Rating:
Summary: A "must" for Campaign Managers
Review: For first time campaigns or re-elections, this book is a "must" for it's detailed check lists of the "campaign process". This book will keep even the most experienced Campaign Manager from overlooking any of the detailed implementations which must take place for a winning campaign. If you use it, it will force you to start the process on time and prevent some of the "panics" that a lack of planning creates. It's time phase scheduling is excellent. Where "part-time-amateur-volunteers" are the campaign's "people resource", I would recommend doubling all the time recommendations.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Bad, but lacking in Key Areas
Review: I have worked on numerous political campaigns at the local, state and federal levels, and overall thought this book was pretty good for what it covered. However, it is kind of lite on details especially in Campaign Planning, Precinct Analysis, and fundraising. This is a good book for beginners but you are definately going to need something else in order to run a successful campaign.
Rating:
Summary: Stop reading a DO!
Review: I purchase three of these books as I am a precinct man
and I thouogh I would learn something. I did. Read one of
these books and you will read the all. None offer anything
different than the tried and true method of doing. Stop reading
and DO.
Rating:
Summary: Before you Run, Read This
Review: If you have an interest or are planning to run for political office, buy two copys of this book just in case you lose the first one.The Judge spells out everything you need to know about running a local campaign from getting your name on the ballot to what to do on election day. Its very understable, easy to read, and highly informative. It will help you in countless ways, such as how to go about fundraising, mailing, signs, door to door campaigning, when to campaign, and how other people can help you. Following the Judges's years earned advice is your first step to winning.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous primer on local political campaigns.
Review: Judge Robert Grey offers a great primer on political campaigns at the local level. This book will walk you through the process of running - and WINNING - a local campaign, inclduing a great "what do I need to do now?" timetable that gives you a checklist of tasks that need to be completed well in advance of the election. When I wrote "25 Fundraising Secrets, Raise More Money, Guaranteed" I did so to give campaigns at all levels the know how they need to raise enough money to win thier elections. This book is a great compliment to mine - it does for political strategy what my book does for fundraising strategy.
Rating: 
Summary: 'ware the uncareful reader:real message is between the lines
Review: Lawrence Grey, How to Win a Local Election, revised edition (Evans and Co., 1999)
Man, does this book almost get it right. A comprehensive step-by-step guide to running a local election campaign, and the information looks, from a logical standpoint, to be good and solid. The one piece of outright untrue information in the book can be classified as an oversight (Grey, who lives in Ohio and "follows local politics pretty closely," as he says, contends he's never seen a candidate using yellow and black yard signs win an election. He's somehow missed Dennis Kucinich, erstwhile mayor of Cleveland and longtime House Rep to the tenth district, who's been using the yellow and black since Methuselah was a pup). I was already to give this a sterling review. Then Grey messed it up big time in the book's very last section. And the worst part is, it wasn't the point he was making that messed it up.
Some glancing references he uses to draw a comparison show that Grey is shockingly ignorant of the mechanisms of free-market economics, so much so that it draws the rest of the logical-seeming book into question; how much does this guy really know about what he's talking about? Inadvertently, this major blunder does give prospective candidates a very valuable lesson: before you open your mouth, make sure you know what you're talking about. Doing otherwise might well get you into trouble. ** ?
Rating:
Summary: Good, practical advice for the novice
Review: Local elections can be relatively simple to very complex depending upon applicable state law. For example, in my own state, running for school board is very simple. You need obtain only a few signatures on a very non technical petition to get on the ballot. Furthermore, the financial disclosure requirements are simple. On the other hand, elections to other local offices are complex affairs with fairly difficult ballot access and complex financial reporting requirements. This fine book helps a candidate through the complxities. The book also offers strategies for running a campaign .. including, campaign literature, going door to door, mailings, media, yard signs, etc. This is a very lucidly written manual that all candidates should find helpful. By the way, all chapters may not be useful for all candidates. For example, a candidate for school board in my state will not need to refer to chapters dealing with the more complex issues I mentioned above. However, going door to door, mailings, yard signs, candidate forums etc. are very important topics to be reviewed for such a campaign. The most important message of the book is to be organized and the book shows how to get properly organized. The book is also up to date as to how the computer can be used in a local campaign, There is something in this book for all candidates and I recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: What it Claims: Truly a Step By Step Guide
Review: Someone who wants to be a first time candidate for local office would do well by reading Judge Grey's book. He's actually run and won. As someone else who has won local elections (six for the State House), I can attest to the usefulness of this book. Grey breaks down campaign functions and issues into small bite sized paragraphs. It's all pretty much covered: fundraising, candidate recruitment, campaign organizations and staff, use of volunteers, election day activities, media, etc., etc. Each chapter focuse right in on the subject with a check list approach to executing each facet of the campaign. The author also provides useful examples of forms and other organizational tools your campaign will want to utilize to organize itself and campaign data. The style is breezy and matter of fact. Grey uses some of his personal experiences to illustrate his points. This is helpful, since it increases the credibility of the points he's making. The only other book I've found that rivals this "How To" is Beaudry's "Winning Local and State Elections..." Her book is as practically focused but perhaps provides a little more solid framework for the issues presented and is more tightly written. On the other hand, Grey is probably as accessable a book on the subject as one is likely to find. His appendices are helpful, also. One can pretty much be on their way to structuring a campaign including the campaign plan and schedule thanks to this book. If followed, I suspect candidates will not be able to blame their loss on themselves or their campaign. Some will win due to the promise of superior organization and focus using this book's model will provide. I'm teaching a course in elective politics at the University of Pennsylvania's Fels Center of Government. This is one of the required reading books for the course and is also used by some other teachers in the field at colleges and universities around the country.
Rating:
Summary: What it Claims: Truly a Step By Step Guide
Review: Someone who wants to be a first time candidate for local office would do well by reading Judge Grey's book. He's actually run and won. As someone else who has won local elections (six for the State House), I can attest to the usefulness of this book. Grey breaks down campaign functions and issues into small bite sized paragraphs. It's all pretty much covered: fundraising, candidate recruitment, campaign organizations and staff, use of volunteers, election day activities, media, etc., etc. Each chapter focuse right in on the subject with a check list approach to executing each facet of the campaign. The author also provides useful examples of forms and other organizational tools your campaign will want to utilize to organize itself and campaign data. The style is breezy and matter of fact. Grey uses some of his personal experiences to illustrate his points. This is helpful, since it increases the credibility of the points he's making. The only other book I've found that rivals this "How To" is Beaudry's "Winning Local and State Elections..." Her book is as practically focused but perhaps provides a little more solid framework for the issues presented and is more tightly written. On the other hand, Grey is probably as accessable a book on the subject as one is likely to find. His appendices are helpful, also. One can pretty much be on their way to structuring a campaign including the campaign plan and schedule thanks to this book. If followed, I suspect candidates will not be able to blame their loss on themselves or their campaign. Some will win due to the promise of superior organization and focus using this book's model will provide. I'm teaching a course in elective politics at the University of Pennsylvania's Fels Center of Government. This is one of the required reading books for the course and is also used by some other teachers in the field at colleges and universities around the country.
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