Many a political campaign ‘boss’ developed their election-winning skills at the Austin University I attended. In my undergraduate days—1945 to 1950–I knew none better than Stan Hickman from Amarillo. Stan graduated and went on to sell commercial real estate in the Dallas area.
My exposure started when we listened to Stan explain how to ‘game’ the election of student government representatives. Stan bragged that the preferential system was ‘ripe’ for an outsider to win election.
There were five representatives to be elected. Stan explained voters would rank the candidates from 1 to 5. When the votes were totaled, the five lowest scores would become a student representative.
Stan turned to our roommate, Bob Bartay, later a Houston area school superintendent. “Bob, we could even run you as an independent and win.”
“Here’s how……
The Greeks— fraternities and sororities—have four candidates. MICA, the men’s campus-wide machine they call ‘independents’, have picked four. A totally independent is a coed in the music school.
We tell the Greeks we will vote their slate, if they mark Bartay as fifth choice. We tell MICA we will vote their slate, if they rank Bartay fifth. We tell the music school we will vote their candidate second.”
The next campaign effort that Stan ordered was to put up signs on the campus. Campaign rules limited number and size. “So location matters,” Stan counseled. He was already on to ‘location, location, location’ before he graduated.
Stan directed us to put Bob’s four feet wide sign on the path that led from the classrooms to Gregory Gymnasium. He found an artist to put a football helmet on a face better looking than our handsome candidate. Then Stan wrote a slogan.
The sign read ‘Bob Bartay, an Athletic Supporter.’
Our clever sign painter added these words in small print in one corner…..’That’s a Jock, Son.’
Stan’s voting schemes worked. Bob was third largest vote getter among the five elected.
