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Prop A Report Third Time’s the Charm: St. Louis County’s Initiative to Pass a Transit Tax

Prop A Report Third Time’s the Charm: St. Louis County’s Initiative to Pass a Transit Tax. The Challenge. Overcome negative perceptions of Metro Establish need to resume service cuts Establish need to expand the system. Campaign Strategy. Two-phase campaign: Education & Advocacy

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Prop A Report Third Time’s the Charm: St. Louis County’s Initiative to Pass a Transit Tax

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  1. Prop A ReportThird Time’s the Charm:St. Louis County’s Initiative to Pass a Transit Tax

  2. The Challenge • Overcome negative perceptions of Metro • Establish need to resume service cuts • Establish need to expand the system

  3. Campaign Strategy • Two-phase campaign: Education & Advocacy • Broad-based campaign committee • Business community support • Coalition building • Targeted messaging • Sufficient campaign budget • Research and polling • Follow keys to success

  4. What CMT Did

  5. Organized the Education Campaign • Organized Steering Committee • Identification of champions—community and business leaders • Focus on transit’s role in community, not Metro specifically • Transit Alliance • Student Campaign • Volunteer phoning and canvassing • Assisted with Fundraising

  6. Keys to Success • Create educational website • Develop Speakers’ Bureau and collateral • Design winning messaging strategy • Television • Radio • Outdoor • Direct Mail • Implement Social Media • Stay on message

  7. Keys to Success Number 1 Get on Message and Stayon Message

  8. Radio

  9. Radio

  10. #4 Long-term Vision • Educational Website

  11. Speakers’ Bureau Collateral

  12. Keys to Success Build a Coalition of Support

  13. Community Leadership Use respected community leaders, to step up and deliver the truth about public transportation

  14. #6 Build Coalition of Support “I Love Transit”

  15. Keys to Success Geton Message and Stayon Message

  16. #1 Stay on Message “Hitchhiker”

  17. Stay on Message • Local Bus Shelter

  18. Advocacy Campaign • Citizens For Modern Transits’ Education campaign softened the ground by educating voters about the value of public transit for everyone • Advance St. Louis’ Advocacy Campaign, headed by Mayor John Nations of Chesterfield, then told voters what to do: Vote Yes on Prop A

  19. Advocacy Campaign

  20. Advocacy Campaign • Assisted Pro Vote get-out-the-vote phone bank • Voter turnout for April elections usually at 13-15% • April 2010 voter turnout exceeded 22% (per Joseph Donahue, St. Louis County Board of Election Commissioners)

  21. Advocacy Campaign

  22. The Results • Overwhelmingly won the early vote • Opposition demoralized by election day • Tracking polls positive • Higher voter turnout • Dramatic change in “yes” votes across campaign years • Final margin of victory 63% to 37%

  23. The Results Increase of Support for Proposition A Compared to Proposition M

  24. More Information Thomas R. Shrout, Jr. Citizens for Modern Transit

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