Different strokes for different folks. We all have our own styles in everything we do.

That goes for management styles too. How many of us over the years have had bosses that we have liked and/or disliked based on their management style? I started to think about management styles while reflecting on my last post.

There are literally hundreds if not thousands of books about management styles. In reality there are two extremes, authoritarian and participative management styles with most managers blending the two extremes into their own style. Obviously a manager who wishes to restrict an employees constitutional rights (even when off duty) like in my last post, falls into the authoritarian style.

Here is another one.

FLORISSANT, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com) – A showdown in Florissant, Missouri, Monday night. Amid allegations long time mayor and former police chief Robert Lowery had been running election campaigns – in part on the city’s dime – the city council banned Florissant department heads from campaigning for candidates for city offices, even on their own time. It was a unanimous vote.

The crowd of close to 75 erupted in applause when he finished speaking.

While I am totally opposed to a Mayor or City Administrator forcing city staff/employees to work on their behalf for a candidate or issue, I am also totally opposed to the idea that these same staff/employees are forbidden to work for candidates or issues on their own time.

A city employee should not have to relinquish constitutional rights in order to retain their job.

Recently I was talking with a City Council candidate. He told me he recently ran into a fireman and he introduced himself and told the fireman he was running for city council.

The fireman looked the candidate straight in the eyes and asked, “Are you pro fire?”

The candidate replied, “Well no actually, I would like to see fewer fires.”

I admit it, I don’t know everything about politics.

In fact I was stunned when I learned that a Governor (at least in one state) can suspend a City Council Representative.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.– The city council was short a member at Tuesday night’s meeting. Council member John Meserve was suspended by Florida Governor Charlie Crist about half an hour before the council meeting.

Meserve is facing charges of brokering and selling real estate in Mayport without a license.

Is this one of those things that somehow just escaped me for all these years?

Can every Governor suspend an Alderman?

Can those same Governors suspend a County Board Supervisor?

Can your Governor do these things?

Let me know.

Everywhere I look lately I see another article about using Social Media in local campaigns/politics/government.

Social Media expert John Moore asks … Will politicians understand that Twitter is not for one-way social interaction?

And my friend Phil Van Treuren at Killer Campaigning writes about …. Political Campaign Tweets: Twitter, Candidates & Elections.

I know if I were a candidate for office I would be investigating the use of social media for my campaign.

I mean the Academy of Local Politics has a Facebook Fan Page. Each post written on this blog finds its way to the Facebook Fan Page and eventually Twitter. That’s just the way things go these days. If a candidate doesn’t understand that they are missing out big time.

By the way if you aren’t a Facebook Fan of the Academy of Local Politics you should be. Sign up at the Facebook Logo on your upper right side.

How should vacant city council positions be filled?

Every city council eventually has a vacancy. Eventually meaning almost yearly. Aldermen come and go so quickly on some councils it is hard to watch the game without a scorecard.

Tacoma is struggling with this process right now.

Earlier this month, at least 40 candidates, vying to fill out the remaining terms of two at-large council seats, gave presentations to sitting city council-members about their qualifications and reasons for seeking the appointments. Although the current council kicked off the appointment process, next year’s newly configured council, which includes three newly elected members, will actually make the selections to fill the vacancies.

Council will hold a special meeting to discuss qualifications of the selected candidates in executive session*, to be followed by an open meeting to select appointees to serve on the City Council. Executive sessions are not open to the public.

Letters will be sent to the selected candidates regarding the results of the meeting.

Forty candidates? Presentations in open session. Deliberations in closed session.

Personally I like Mayor appointment with Council approval to fill those slots. How’s that for an opinion from a former Mayor?

Students … what do you think?  This is your assignment. What is the best way to chose replacement aldermen?

Leave your comments and thoughts.

Love’m or hate’m, yard signs are visible in practically every political campaign.

There are strategies involved in making those yard signs the best marketing tools possible.

The Electioneering 101 class will be discussing the following article after Thanksgiving break.

3 Creative Ways to Place You Election Signs

This article is from that great website LocalVictory.Com.

(If you are a local government candidate you should have that website bookmarked.)

Everyone has ideas how to win elections. Even those people who have never run for election think they know how to win elections.

Joe Garecht has written a piece “How NOT to Win Election Campaigns.”

It is recommended reading for Election Class.

This post is intended for anyone who has ever thought about running for a local election, but didn’t know how to start planning an election campaign. Winning elections doesn’t just happen by accident. Winning elections is hard work. However, there is help.

The best book I have read on how to run for local office is … How to Run for Local Office by Robert J. Thomas. I highly recommend this book. If you don’t want to spend $19.95 for the book you probably don’t want to win an election very bad.

If you do want to try to win an election on the cheap, then at least visit Local Victory – Your Guide to Winning Elections.  This website has a warehouse of articles on running and winning elections.

If anyone knows of another book or website that can be a valuable campaign tool please leave a comment with your recommendation.

Candidates for election will do anything, at times, to get noticed. Royal Barber of Sylvania Township in Ohio came up with an idea I would have never thought of. He placed the names of his rivals for the township trustee position on Halloween tombstones in his yard.

Naturally, one of his opponents did not find the humor in it and demanded his name be taken off. There has to be a killjoy for everything. Mr. Barber complied with the request.

Another opponent, Penny Levine,  ”burst out laughing” when she saw the display.

My elections were always in April. Putting my opponents names on Easter eggs wouldn’t have had the same impact.

Good luck Royal. I can’t vote for you but I hope you win!

Government needs more people with guts and ingenuity.

There is certainly a time and place for recalling elected officials.

Then there isn’t. 

Eight of the 13 Monroe County Supervisors who voted for a $30 million Justice Center will face recall this fall.

The recall was organized by Monroe County Taxpayers Relief, which opposes the Justice Center. Its leader, Dennis Clinard, said it wasn’t easy collecting a sufficient number of valid signatures, which ranged from 94 to 178 depending on the district.

I am not making any judgement on the merits of building the Justice Center. I just don’t believe an elected official should be recalled for voting one way or another on a specific issue. That is what regular elections are for.

Recalls are for removing sleaze.