Enlist
Influential
Allies

To: The Zenith City Contracting Officer
From: Bob Behn
Re: Creating Political Support for Building the Park
Date: October, 1999

You are in political trouble. You need some political support. Moreover, that political support won’t just appear magically. You have to create it.

You’re not in as much trouble as you would be if you had authorized the second payment to Daubach Community Developers. That decision would have created ethical problems. Indeed, it could have gotten you disciplined, fired, or worse. Still, you clearly have some serious political trouble.

But you do have one asset. The West End community wants the park built. They don’t just want the money given to DCD. The entire community—from activists to ordinary citizens—wants DCD to actually build the park. And if Daubach Community Developers doesn’t do it, the community wants someone else to.

So who are the leaders of the West End community? I don’t know. But I can guess. I bet that the ministers, priests, rabbis and mullahs are excellent, first-guess candidates. Are they the most influential? Maybe not. But they certainly are somewhat influential. And they do know who are the most influential. So start with them. Start with the person whom you know best—or to whom you have the best entrée.

MAKING YOUR CASE

Your case is simple: Daubach has taken part of the money that the city has dedicated to the park and has given back nothing. In effect, it has stolen the community’s money. It has taken some of the precious funds that the city has allocated to the West End; in return, it has done zero.

The second part of your argument is that if this behavior is rewarded—if DCD gets its second payment without having to do anything for the first one—it won’t do anything. All it will have learned from this experience is that, if it wants more money, it can just get an influential pol to ask the city for it.

Explain the complete story to the West End cleric whom you know best. Then summarize your conclusions:

You want the park built. I want the park built. But DCD isn’t building the park. And if we give DCD any more money before it does any work, we may never get the park. The city will lose the money and will simply give up on building the park.

But don’t attack Sadler. She’s just doing her job (even if her conception of that job is quite different from yours). If you take on anyone, take on the do-nothing developer.

BUILDING YOUR COALITION

Ask this cleric to introduce you to other influential community leaders. Even better, ask this individual to call a meeting so that you can make your pitch wholesale. Once you have created a coalition of influential community leaders who want to ensure that the park does get built, ask them to take their case to Sadler. Once they understand that the park itself is at stake, they’ll figure out how best to do it.

Can a mid-level civil servant really do this? Could a mid-level civil servant actually create enough political support to change the mind of an aggressive, dedicated and effective politician? The answer is yes. It has been done.

Agree or disagree? If you think you have a better way to deal with this month's Manager's Choice dilemma, or would like to expand on Bob Behn's approach, share your thoughts with other readers here. Send your solution to mailbox@governing.com. Please include your name, location, government or business title or job description, and a daytime phone number (for verification purposes).