Why Candidates for Local Office Need Speechwriters

Truly, it was an event that made you feel good about democracy. It was a week night; people came right after work, some of them still in uniform, many of them having skipped dinner to make it on time.

The meeting was held in a local fire house, and the place was packed. College kids wore bright t-shirts, promoting their favorite candidates. Local yokels passed out flyers-some glossy, some handmade. Candidates walked up and down the rows, shaking hands, introducing themselves and mopping their brows.

You see, it was hot in there. Sweltering, even. But people had come out to choose the candidates they’d endorse in the upcoming primary, and they weren’t going to leave until the results were in. The whole atmosphere reminded you that it might be small, casual, and local-but it was important. And people knew it.

But perhaps the candidates didn’t.

The Two-Minute Speech
Every candidate was given two minutes to speak before the crowd. Some were seasoned politicians, used to giving little extemporaneous spiels. But others were novices, earnestly seeking to serve, and easily tongue-tied under pressure.
One candidate spent the bulk of his time talking about brochures that he waived around, but did not explain. He seemed like a nice guy; I’d like to tell you his name, but he never mentioned it. Nor did he remember to mention what office he was running for.

Another candidate, this one a judge, forgot his audience. He told the assembled crowd, who patiently listened while fanning themselves with brochures, that they should vote for the person with the most experience, not the person who went to the most club crab feasts.

The people sitting on either side of me visibly recoiled.

Perhaps it was the dismissive tone that accompanied the words ‘crab feast’ as if the club’s events were meaningless, and beneath his notice. Perhaps it was the unstated, but clear implication that he hated having to run for office, and held contempt for the realities of politicking . . . the handshaking, and the crab feasts, and the two-minute speeches.

A Speechwriter Can Help
A speechwriter would have told this candidate that a political club is the wrong place to show contempt for politics. A speechwriter would have tailored a piece for an audience of people who gave up time with their families to come out to listen to candidates talk.

A speechwriter’s job is to sell candidates and to sell ideas. A speechwriter’s job is to frame the issues and tailor the message for a given audience. In this way, speechwriters perform a useful service for seasoned political veterans and candidates for the local school board alike. And hiring a speechwriter to help with these two-minute speeches is not prohibitively expensive. Some speechwriters will charge as little as $25 an hour. And if they believe in your cause, they may give you a discounted flat rate for each piece.

When you’re running for local office, it’s likely because you have things you want to get done; if you wanted to be a speechwriter, you’d likely be in another line of work. Moreover, you have enough to worry about when you’re up on stage with sweaty palms, trying to remember to introduce yourself. Allowing a speechwriter to take some of the burden off of you is just a wise campaign investment.

Besides, if hiring a speechwriter makes it easier on you and those folks in their bright t-shirts, waving their signs, and sweating to make democracy work-well, then it’s worth it.