Managing The 2023 Padilla for LA IE-->Winning 3 Pollie AwaRD
Special Election Victory-Imelda Padilla for Los Angeles City Council
Special Election Victory-Imelda Padilla for Los Angeles City Council
After a City Council President resigned following a racist comment, a 2023 special election was held to fill her seat.
Our client, LiUNA Local 300 bucked the LA County Federation of Labor's endorsement of our opponent and instead backed Imelda Padilla, the daughter of a longtime LiUNA member.
We managed and created all Independent Expenditure campaign communications in English and Spanish: Political Direct Mail; Digital Video and Banner Ads; Voter Targeting; Field; and Phones.
Our 4 Volume Mail Program featured "The Amazing Imelda" as a comic Superhero or in Spanish "La Increible Imelda." Our digital campaign used comic animated illustrations to drive our message.
Canvassers reported positive feedback from our comic illustrated mailers and digital campaign. Phoners arranged for canvassers to harvest and return vote-by-mail ballots.
Our positive, humor-tinged messaging helped deliver a 12-point win for Imelda Padilla and make our client a political powerhouse amongst LA labor unions.
Green Alley Strategies won three 2024 Pollie Awards for "The Amazing Imelda" including the top categories "Best in Show" & "Best Direct Mail"
Pollie Award Winning Creative Digital Video
Special Election Victory-Imelda Padilla for Los Angeles City Council
Our digital video ads reinforced our Amazing Imelda/Increible Imelda comic illustrated mail messaging. We even added a little stop action animation.
Click the Links!
The Amazing Imelda: 15-second and 30-second ads (English)
La Increible Imelda: 15-second and 30-second ads (Espanol)
First Time for Everything--A Voter asked Imelda to sign his "Amazing Imelda" Volumes 1 & 2
First Time for Everything--A Voter asked Imelda to sign his "Amazing Imelda" Volumes 1 & 2
2024 pollie winning campaigns: Bubba Fish & "Stop the Rat"
Bubba Fish-Fights For All of Us
Bubba Fish finished in the top three and was the only non-incumbent in a crowded field to win election to the Culver City Council. We featured Bubba's deep grassroots connections throughout Culver City with our map themed "Fights for All of Us" mailer. Screenland, the nickname of Culver City, was a game board mailer that reinforced Bubba's policy expertise and commitment to the city. "Fights for All of Us" received a 2025 Silver Pollie for Best Direct Mail. Both pieces were 11x17 with one-fold. The map and game board appeared on the center pages.
"Stop the Rat"
Fewer than 14,000 votes were cast to elect the top two finishers to the Montclair (CA) City Council. Our IE had a $22,500 budget to drive down support for a compromised, scandal plagued incumbent.
The incumbent, Ben Lopez, was an anti-LGBTQ Republican. Two male city employees filed lawsuits against Lopez, accusing him of sexual harassment, unwanted sexual advances and creating a hostile work environment.
The City Council conducted an Independent investigation, which found the plaintiffs’ accusations credible. The City paid $550,000 to settle the lawsuits. Newspapers reported that the City spent $700,000 on litigation costs and expected the total bill to hit $900,000.
The City sued Lopez to claw back the legal fees.
With just a few candidates running for two seats, we achieved our goal to open the door for other candidates by hitting Lopez and keeping him under 30%--close to the 27% Republican turnout.
On a tight budget, we created two 11x17 comic book volumes of “Stop the Rat,” turning the images into 15 and 30-second digital ads. Anthropomorphic characters depicted residents becoming outraged about Lopez’s behavior and its cost to taxpayers.
Watch Our Pollie Award Winning 30-second & 15-second Videos