Background
In the 2003 election, incumbent mayors throughout New England were voted out of office. Cuts at the federal and state levels greatly affected municipal budgets. Mayors faced tough choices and had to cut back on city services. When services disappeared, mayors were blamed. This was the situation Hartford's mayor Eddie Perez faced in his '03 reelection campaign.

Action
Knowing that budget cuts must take place in Hartford, this mail piece was designed and dropped in March - 8 months before the election. We wanted to establish 3 things for Mayor Perez. First, that the cuts were not his fault but were the work of a Republican governor. Second, without new revenues being generated, city services would HAVE to be reduced. Third, that Mayor Perez would NEVER attempt to make these cuts without serious input from the citizens of Hartford.

Our goal was to position Mayor Perez as a populist mayor who truly believed in a representative democracy and wanted to have a dialogue with all the citizens of Hartford.

Result
This mailing was a huge success for Perez. The Hartford Courant and other papers reported on this piece and the public was pleased that the mayor actually cared what they thought. Perez turned a tough economic and political problem into positive political capital that enabled him to make the necessary cuts and be reelected by a huge margin.