It depends on the situation...

A couple of months ago, I gathered in a home with a group of parents interested in helping our school district pass a Tax Ratification Election. It would require residents to agree to increase their tax burden in a political and economic climate that suggested such a result would be extremely difficult. The measure had already been voted down in November.

As a group we decided that the best approach was to launch a grass roots effort that included contacting the media to share why the district needed more revenue.

Because of my background in media, I was asked to contact the local newspaper. The superintendent and I ended up meeting with an editorial board where I mostly listened to her share all the salient information on the issue.

At the end of the meeting one of the editors stood and assured us that the panel would definitely deliberate and write an editorial. Then he cautioned that it might not be the editorial that we would hope.

Later that day, I went to a press conference that I attend weekly with a member of the local DA's office. Unsolicited and with no knowledge about where I had been earlier that day, he described a conversation he had with a seasoned DA early in his career.

He asked the man tips on dealing with the press. The man's advice to him, which he said he has tried to follow during his career, was that it is okay to speak to the press but never seek them out.

This made me question my efforts, big time. I had just led the district to the inner sanctum of the newsroom and we left with what could be considered a warning from one of the top editors there.

The next day a factual article was printed. A couple weeks later, the paper ran an editorial in favor of the measure. Then it ran a favorable column. Then it ran a guest column I had written.

I am still stunned by the support from the newspaper. It was incredible.

The election was tonight. I knew the district did all it could to get its message out, but I wondered if the message would be accepted or rejected. I was surprised to feel anxiety when I heard voters were lining up. outside the polling location. Would crowds on election day again nullify the early vote tally?

After the polls closed, Brandy and I spent an hour refreshing a website trying to find out the results.

Turns out it was a landslide, 795 to 244.

It just goes to show you that there are situations when approaching the media is appropriate. It is satisfying tonight that even though I couldn't see it, there was clearly more with us than against us.