Times Union Commentary: For a winning strategy, Dems can look to the Spa City

The national narrative coming out of the November election is that Democrats lost ground and the Republican strategy of stoking divisive culture wars looks like it may be a successful strategy for them to win control of Congress in 2022.

Not so fast.

Democrats can look to a small city in New York’s Capital Region for a roadmap to victory in 2022.

Saratoga Springs is a mostly white and suburban-like community. It is politically moderate and has a long history of Republican leadership, though Democrats have gained a small edge in voter registration. With its commission form of government, the mayor and elected department commissioners comprise the five-member City Council. Most of the current council members were supported by Republicans in the 2019 elections, but with four members choosing not to run for re-election, Democrats had an opportunity to elect a majority.

The long-simmering tension between social justice activists, including Black Lives Matter, and the Saratoga Springs Police Department over the death of Darryl Mount reached a boiling point this summer, with additional police called in with riot gear and armored vehicles being deployed during a peaceful protest.

The police response led to activists forcibly detained and later arrested for violations when they could have been mailed a summons, producing more protests and an investigation by the New York attorney general’s office.

In spite of this charged environment with public safety as the top issue and a 3-to-1 spending disadvantage, Democrats swept the four open seats and elected the state’s first Asian-American city mayor and the city’s first out LGBTQ woman of color to the council. How we did so, particularly for Ron Kim’s winning mayoral campaign, is a good blueprint for Democrats across the state and the nation.

Let’s start with what we made a point not to do.

We did not focus on Donald Trump.

We did not get lost in manufactured Republican culture warfare, even though the political environment was ripe for it.

We did not talk about “defunding the police.” In fact, we neutralized that potential attack and talked about increasing spending for public safety while strengthening accountability.

We did not talk about masks or vaccine requirements in the campaign’s advertising.

Instead, we focused on solutions that bring people together, not on issues that divide us. We had a consistent message about listening to people and delivering for them. Nothing went out from the campaign without saying that Kim will listen and make Saratoga Springs a safe city that works for everyone, not just a select few.

We had a clear strategy to build a foundation for Kim, persuade swing voters, and invest in mobilizing Democrats who do not ordinarily vote in municipal elections. And when Republicans did attack, we responded forcefully, called them out for being deceptive and divisive, and used the attacks to pick apart the Republican mayoral candidate’s “independent” message.

We also emphasized Kim’s experience and preparation for the job. People make decisions emotionally and find reasons (hopefully facts) to back up their decisions, and voters want to feel comfortable when making a choice for an executive office.

There is a reason the moniker “swing voter” is popular with the press. Between 15 percent and 25 percent of voters will swing back and forth between the Democratic and Republican parties, sometimes on the same ballot but more often against the party they perceive to hold national power in the given year.

The results in Saratoga Springs are proof that Democrats can stop that backswing by focusing on people and solutions instead of purist ideology and culture warfare. Disciplined campaigns matter.

Achim Bergmann of Saratoga is a Democratic strategist who currently runs a national political consulting firm with clients in 25 states.

Source: https://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Commentary-For-a-winning-strategy-Dems-can-look-16677868.php