If you are a staffer in a city council or state legislature, you may be thinking about running for office yourself. Unlike those who throw their hat into the ring from outside active politics, or from another elected position, your current role has limitations that your opponents may not face. However, it’s also a launching point, with opportunities that can help you run your best possible campaign. 

Legislata was created to help those working in the political arena to be more efficient and effective in their workday. Here’s five tips on using it if that workday takes place in the press.

How do we know if a legislator is doing a good job? That debate is the heart of electoral campaigns, but we can at least look to bills passed, fundraising numbers, or re-election prospects for a more objective analysis. How do we know if a legislature as a whole is doing a good job? The institution does not get re-elected, nor do collective fundraising numbers tell us much about this.

When you think of a political campaign, the first image to come to mind might be the sprawling, nationwide Presidential elections or a heated Senate race drawing in millions of out-of-state dollars. However, the vast majority of offices are held at the local level, which means the vast majority of campaigns are small in scope. If you’re thinking about running for office for the first time, chances are you need to build a small but efficient operation. Here are some tips on getting started.

We searched for accounts followed by the 76 members of the Arizona State Legislature with public twitter accounts. This gives us a window into what legislators see on their timelines when they open up Twitter.

n anticipation of the election nights that will be happening in cities and some states across the country in November, we have put together some examples of how presidential elections have been called in the past. As you refresh Twitter, follow along with the New York Times needle, and try to piece together the numbers, know that you are taking part in a storied American tradition of feeding your anxiety with scraps of information.

This is the fourth installment of a series that looks at the timetables of legislative bodies and what you need to know to stay on top of events.

In America, parties don’t apply to most municipal offices, which is the vast majority of elected positions. Of course, that doesn’t mean that coordination and signifier effects vanish at the local level, even though in some cases. As any observer of local politics knows, some councilors work more closely than with others, adopt similar platforms, and share voting bases.

If you’re a new staffer, you might’ve heard of professors’ office hours when you were in college. But what about district office hours – what are they, and how can you prepare to host them?

This is the third installment of a series that looks at the timetables of legislative bodies and what you need to know to stay on top of events.

This is the second installment of a series that looks at the timetables of legislative bodies and what you need to know to stay on top of events.

Much of political conversation in 2021 happens on Twitter. It’s how many people receive news, communicate their ideas, and have conversations about the topics of the day. It’s one reason why we’ve researched who elected officials follow, what candidates in a mayoral race say, and even whether their following numbers correlate with their votes.

Did Twitter followings translate into votes? In August, we explored Boston political twitter. Now that the preliminary election has happened, we have votes to check the theory.

The word “networking” intimidates many of us. Most normal people would never even think of using trips to the bathroom as a way to jump start our careers. For better and worse though, networking is essential to your success -- invariably, most jobs above entry-level will involve some degree of personal connection. According to research from LinkedIn and HubSpot, around 85% of jobs are filled by networking.

If you’re new to state politics, calendars can be confusing. Each state has its own quirks and deadlines, and you may find yourself closely following the slow-moving proceedings in one legislature while another is in the middle of a flurry of votes. Especially if you’re a new staffer whose experience in politics has been campaigning and/or federal government, it can take time to understand when everything happens.

You might’ve gotten days off earlier in the summer, but by GOTV those are likely gone. However, you still can’t be all campaign, all the time. Here are a few tips for how to manage stress and take care of yourself during GOTV.

Zoom seems to run the world these days. In spring 2020, we were all getting used to life on video together. By now though, chances are it’s part of your job description to ensure Zooms run smoothly.

Twitter is the undisputed social media venue for national political conversations - presidents, senators, and reporters keep up a running stream of statements and reactions that compete with cable news as the background noise of Washington. Is the same true for city politics? A smaller geography means that real life conversations are more possible, but a more connected political ecosystem might also make a social network like Twitter more vibrant.

Late summer is often a slow period at the State House, and the lull may feel disorienting when you’re used to its hustle and bustle. Here are a few ideas for making the most of those quiet Augusts at the State House.

Managing interns can seem intimidating, especially when you just stopped being one yourself. As a staffer in a state legislature or city council, you’re often in one of your first roles out of college, inundated with work, and still learning the ins and outs of the job. You’re then given a handful of students to manage, no management training, and expected to get them up to speed.