April 09, 2011 04:42 AM UTC

George Karl: Steve Saunders' Bank Shot

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• by: Colorado Pols

At least, Karl is happy to assist the Saunders campaign whenever possible.

From a media advisory we received from Steve Saunders’ campaign for City Council’s District 5:

DENVER NUGGETS COACH GEORGE KARL PARTICIPATES IN FAMILY CAMPAIGN RALLY FOR STEVE SAUNDERS’ DISTRICT 5 CITY COUNCIL CAMPAIGN

WHEN & WHERE :

Sunday April 10th, 1:00pm-3:00pm

Crescent Park, at 8th/Roslyn in Lowry

WHAT: Campaign Rally and Volunteer Canvass with George Karl in support of Steve Saunders For City Council District 5. Wear your Nuggets gear and bring cans of food to donate to local families in need.

The basketball puns just write themselves, don’t they? Really, though, the fact that Karl is such a dedicated backer of Saunders’ can do nothing but help the campaign. While most voters don’t even realize they’re going to have to vote in a City Council race, let alone know all of the candidates running, we’re willing to bet most District 5 voters are aware of George Karl. They’re definitely going to remember the candidate the Nuggets’ basketball coach at their front door is talking about.

While the race is still anybody’s guess, the fact that Saunders is recognizable having anchored 7News as long as he did is going to help his campaign immensely. He’s a local celebrity. Above that, he’s made connections to local celebrities like George Karl.

In a City Council race, it’s unlikely that you’re going to be able to raise enough money for TV to be a viable or smart option. In fact, aside from direct mail, one of the best ways to win a race like this one is to make your presence in the community known. Walking and having picnics are consistently smart ways to raise your name ID and win a race. Doing both of those things with the coach of one of the area’s most popular sports teams is even better. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that many will recognize Steve as that guy from TV even if he doesn’t run any spots.

We’ll be posting our analysis of the latest fundraising numbers shortly. Until then, though, Steve Saunders gives us one of the best examples of unique campaigning from an underdog candidate.