St. Albert’s former mayor has written a book for those who plan on running for office and need help to get started.
In June, Nolan Course self-published his book, The Political Campaign How-to Guide, to help political candidates win the race.
Crouse, who served as councillor and mayor in St. Albert for 13 years, said writing a book was a lifelong dream that he was glad he could tackle during the pandemic.
“It was always in the back of my mind,” Crouse said.
The process only took him 20 days. He started on Dec. 23, and by Jan. 11 he had written more than 50,000 words.
“It is focused between what I call the epiphany moment, from the time that person decides they are … considering seeking (office), right through until the day after election day,” Crouse said.
For those looking for juicy details from when Crouse was on St. Albert's city council, he said he held back on those and chose to focus only on the campaigning piece.
The book first explores how to decide to run for office, and what the job looks like, and then explains fundraising and forming a team. Crouse talks about the tactical side of campaigning, too, with record-keeping, forms, and financials. Door-knocking gets a section of the book, as well creating a platform, giving speeches, communicating with the public, and advertising in newspapers.
Crouse said the book is helpful to candidates running in elections at all levels of government, whether it be for chief, mayor, reeve, councillor, MLA, MP, or trustee in an Indigenous, provincial, federal, municipal, or school board election.
“I tried to get, in some cases, generic enough, where people would buy it in any jurisdiction, and even the title is intended to attract the broader audience,” Crouse said.
Crouse said COVID-19 gave him a solid block of time in which to write, as he had no obligations from the middle of December until the middle of January.
“I had a perfect break, so I wasn't distracted by anything, including family, because there was no vacation, there was no Christmas celebration time, there were no parties, there was nothing,” Crouse said.
He hunkered down in his office from 8 a.m. until around 6 p.m. each day. He said his penchant for diligent note-taking over the years meant many of his ideas were already written down and just needed to be sorted through.
The index was built first, Crouse said, which came from putting his notes into different piles until he had clear chapters and sections. From there, the words started to flow.
In the end the process wasn’t as painful as Crouse thought it would be. It was tough to get started, but once he got writing, it became easier.
“I’m really happy I’ve done it.”
Crouse's book is available for order on Amazon in hardcover ($37.99) or paperback ($21.99).
