For those of you thinking of  running for office, Operation Clean Government is offering a candidate school for those looking to gain some campaign knowledge.  The school will be held at the Quonset O Club on Saturday, March 6th from 7:15 5:15.  Here's the schedule for the day:



MORNING PROGRAM

7:15      Full Buffet Breakfast – Welcome: Larry Valencia,  OCG President

                                               Candidate School Founder: Bruce Lang        

           Speaker: John DePetro, WPRO 630 Morning News

8:30     Deadlines; filing requirements, campaign finance & reports  The Honorable A. Ralph Mollis, Secretary of State

9:10     Ethics Commission rules   Jason Gramitt, Education Coordinator/Staff Attorney for the Rhode Island Ethics Commission

9:50     Structuring Your Campaign – Making the decision to run; brief overview of what you need to run an effective campaign including selecting a Campaign Manager.   Professor Victor Profughi, Adjunct Professor at University of Rhode Island, Owner at Quest Research, CEO at Quest Research Public Opinion, Public Policy Surveys

10:30   Fundraising, Wise Campaign Spending and Pay Pal     Seth Klaiman, SMK Enterprises

11:00   Print, Radio and Other Media – Press Releases & effective print advertising. Presenters:  Tom Ward, Publisher of The Valley Breeze and Dave Layman, Layman Communications


AFTERNOON PROGRAM


12:00 Lunch - Speaker: The Honorable Donald L. Carcieri, Governor
BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Choose the session that will be most important to your campaign

1:15 Session #1

A.     State Issues – for candidates for State offices & General Assembly  Presenter: The Honorable Donald L. Carcieri, Governor

B.     Municipal Issues – for candidates for local office  Presenter:  The Honorable Joseph Larisa, Mayor of East Providence

C.     Strategy – Targeting potential votes – Identifying the votes you can win – Don’t waste your time!     Presenter:  Richard Foley, The Prince Group

 

1:50 Session #2

A.     How to beat an entrenched incumbent.  Moderator:  Dave Layman, Layman Communications.  Panel: The Honorable Ed O’Neill, Senator  (I); The Honorable Deborah Ruggiero, Representative (D);  The Honorable Brian Newberry, Representative (R)

B.     Know the Issues and How to answer questions honestly while not alienating half the room!  Presenter: The Honorable Arlene Violet, former RI Attorney General

C.     How to Get Out The Vote (GOTV), targeted for campaign Staffers.   Presenter:  Ernest Carlucci, Campaign Chairman for Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis

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2:30 Session #3

A.     Women candidates / Getting the women’s vote  Presenters: The Honorable Arlene Violet and Deborah Perry , Executive Director of the Northern RI YWCA

B.     Minority candidates / getting the minority’s vote  Presenters: Angel Tavares, Esq.,  specializing in election law, and Sandy Riojas, political advocate, political commentator, & educator

C.     Branding yourself – What do you stand for - Campaign Theme / Image. Presenter Gregg Perry,  The Perry Group, Reputation Management & Strategic Communications

 

3:10 – 3:25 BREAK

 
Special Presentations for all

 

3:25 Using the Internet – Webmedia; YouTube, Twitter, Facebook. Etc. Gregg Perry, The Perry Group, Reputation Management & Strategic Communications

4:15 – 5:15 Education Roundtable -- an issue for every campaign  Moderator:  Dave Layman, Panelists: Bob Walsh, RI NEA; The Honorable Dan McKee, Mayor; Anthony Carcieri, President, East Providence School Committee; Harry Staley, Chairman, Rhode Island Statewide Coalition (RISC).

 

 For more information, vistit Operation Clean Government's website: http://www.ocgri.org/candidate.html