Client Case Study:  Felton FLOW

"Jim’s PR and political expertise helped us focus our messages so we could get the word out and quickly respond to the seemingly endless number of mailers and advertisements put out by the water corporation. The press coverage we received was extensive and balanced and helped keep the community up to date on the water issue.”

- Dr. Larry Ford, Steering Committee, Felton FLOW

Challenge
Felton Friends of Locally Owned Water (FLOW) organized to pursue public acquisition of the community’s water system from a privately-held multinational corporation. FLOW was preparing for a bond measure to raise $11 million to acquire the system. The corporate owners of the water system had a track record of spending large amounts of money and using professional political consulting firms to overwhelm other community acquisition attempts.

Strategy
After analyzing tactics used by the water company in other communities around the U.S., we initiated a community outreach program going door to door with information on the ballot measure, explaining why local ownership was better, how much acquiring the system would cost and show the broad community support for the effort. I contributed to developing our key messages, conducted speaker training, revamped the FLOW website and was the primary contact with reporters covering the acquisition effort.

Results
The ballot measure was approved by 74.8% of voters and the effort received extensive media coverage, including all local media outlets, the Los Angeles Times and page one of the Wall Street Journal. As a result of our efforts, members of FLOW have begun consulting with national citizen advocacy groups and other communities to teach them how to mount effective campaigns against well-financed corporations.

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