Kimberly Rose was a first-time Democratic candidate for supervisor in a township that hadn't seen a Democratic majority in its 300 year history.  She was up against Vince Deon, a well-connected Republican incumbent whose brother, Pat, is one of the most influential Republicans in Pennsylvania.  The Democratic team for supervisor in 2009 were soundly trounched so expectations were limited for the 2011 Democratic campaign. 

In General Election 2011, 58% of voters were Republicans, 36% were Democrats and 6% undecided.  A difficult electoral environment.

Decision Communications was asked to create a 7 piece mail plan to wrest control of the township from the Republicans for the first time ever. 

Decision Communications/Municipoll conducted a survey near the end of September 2011.  Taxes and spending was the key concern with honest government and traffic also ranked fairly high:

The incumbent, Vince Deon, had repeatedly voted to raise property taxes so it came as no suprise that his favorability rating was low. 

The survey tested a variety of possible messages including:

Q9.  Kimberly Rose is a fiscal conservative dedicated to holding township supervisors accountable for every dollar spent.  Please tell me if this is a very convincing reason to vote for Kimberly Rose, a somewhat convincing reason, not very convincing, or not a convincing reason at all to vote for Kimberly Rose. 

Interestingly, this message worked across parties. Even Democrats wanted a "fiscal conservative."

Decision Communications created a mailing that introduced Rose as a fiscal conservative who was focused like a laser beam on taxes:

Conversely, most voters did not want a guy who repeatedly raised taxes:

Q11. Vincent Deon voted to raise property taxes 5 times since taking office in 2006, resulting in a 80 percent increase in our property taxes. Does this statement raises major doubts, minor doubts, or no real doubts about voting for Vincent Deon.

After introducing Kimberly to the voters, we turned our attention to Deon.  Voters were reminded of his votes to increase taxes. 

Voters also wanted "honest government:"  

Q14. Vincent Deon was caught in political pay to play scheme and pressured county employees and local businesses to make political contributions. Once it hit the newspapers, Deon was forced to resign from his political post.  Does this statement raises major doubts, minor doubts, or no real doubts about voting for Vincent Deon.   

Based on Deon's record it wasn't difficult to craft several critical mailings, hitting him on honest government themes. 

One of the advantages of polling in a race like this is to help local organizations make the right messaging choices.  Many in the local party organization advocated making the development of specific local, big box shopping center the focus of the campaign's message.  So we tested this message and discovered that it wasn't as powerful as many thought.

Q6. Kimberly Rose opposes big box stores like the new Giant currently forcing its way into the heart of Northampton. Please tell me if this is a very convincing reason to vote for Kimberly Rose, a somewhat convincing reason, not very convincing, or not a convincing reason at all to vote for Kimberly Rose.  

While the shopping center message was not terribly effective in the township as a whole, it was however, effective in specific areas of the township--areas directly affected by the new shopping center.  Consequently, a mailing was designed that targeted these voters:

Despite a 20-point turnout deficit, Democrat Kimberly Rose prevailed over Republican Vince Deon, 52% to 48%.  Democrats now control Northampton Township for the first time ever. 

News article:

Rose Wins, Shifts Board Majority for First Time in Northampton History