INSIGHTS: What to do when your presidential ambitions hit a traffic jam

 

 

Governor Christie will need to be stronger than the media storm he’s facing over Bridgegate and the Sandy ad investigation.

In order to salvage his hopes of winning the presidency in 2016, Christie and his communications team will need all hands on deck over the weeks and months to come as these stories develop. There are some key measures the governor should consider as he begins to mend his fractured image, so we asked some of JCPR’s experts what Christie should do to get his presidential campaign back on track:

1. “No comment” is not the answer

(From Dana Taormina, Vice President)

The No. 1 rule in crisis messaging is that “no comment” is almost never in your best interest. It is best to address any factual information that you can, as it usually will come up anyway, and debunking any myths that may be out in the media. People look for honesty and integrity during times of difficulty, so it is best to address any issues in this way.

2. Do the right thing

(From James Doyle, Senior Vice President)

Christie is known for his open and straightforward approach, and he clearly aspires for higher office. In this scandal, the issue concerns whether or not he knew of or had instructed the lane closures. People in Northern N.J. experience regular traffic issues, but this is about trust!

The governor needs to be honest and apologize/condemn the actions, accept responsibility at the highest levels (as appropriate, he has to let people know if he had knowledge or not — lying now can only come back to haunt him later), take swift and immediate action, understand that his reputation has been damaged and work to repair it, and find a transportation-related initiative to push.

3. Take control

(From Kris Kagel, Senior Vice President)

First, make it a one-day news event. Be honest, be accountable, tell everything and be proactive. Do you know a story is going to break? You should be the one to tell it, and thus control it. Don’t hide. If you are honest and upfront about everything (that’s the key), there isn’t any follow-up story. People tend to have short memories.

Second, be contrite and apologize. The public doesn’t want to hear excuses. If you made a mistake, or people under your watch made the mistake, what are you going to do to fix it? Be accountable and be sincere!

4. Ask the difficult questions

(From Bob Keane, Managing Editor)

I think the most obvious tip is to “Ask the questions you don’t really want to know the answers to.” Had Christie asked people in what he referred to as his inner circle of trust to explain what happened and why after their involvement had been revealed, I think he would have come off better than he does now. His apparent incredulity that the people around him would think such behavior is acceptable is a lot like Claude Rains’ character in Casablanca being shocked that there was gambling going on at Rick’s at the same time that he was collecting his winnings.

5. Don’t be a bully

(From Sara Zick, Vice President)

The backlash is not a party affiliation issue, but one of optics: he has a reputation for being a bully. If Chris Christie wants to be perceived as the kind of leader who does not retaliate against perceived enemies, he simply needs to stop doing it. If he wants to be perceived as a kind leader who crosses the traditional political party boundaries, he needs to stop having a staffer follow him around with a camcorder in order to record confrontations with constituents who offend him and upload those clips to YouTube.

He needs to apologize and mean it. He needs to take steps publicly to curtail his confrontational, occasionally cruel streak. He needs to apologize, and then he needs to commit to being the kind of person who he claims he is. Publicists are not magicians— if you want to be perceived as kind, you have to actually be kind.

6. The cover-up is always worse than the crime

(From Tony Kono, Senior Vice President)

“What I’ve seen today for the first time is unacceptable. I am outraged and deeply saddened to learn that not only was I misled by a member of my staff, but this completely inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct was made without my knowledge. One thing is clear: this type of behavior is unacceptable and I will not tolerate it because the people of New Jersey deserve better. This behavior is not representative of me or my administration in any way, and people will be held responsible for their actions.”

Christie is appropriately outraged, but his statement conflicts with his image as a strong governor. How could he not know? Or, better yet, since these emails and messages were turned over to legislative investigators, how could he not know what was in them? He and his staff seemed to be caught flat-footed, and that says as much about his management as his statement does.

The cover-up is always worse than the crime. The governor needs to understand that you can delegate authority but not responsibility. He could have learned that lesson on the first day of leadership and management class. Being appalled and saddened is fine, but he is the captain of that ship and thus responsible for what his folks did, with or without his expressed approval. He needs to own it.

---

Brian Hart is an Account Executive at Jennifer Connelly Public Relations (JCPR). Follow Brian on Twitter @BrianHartPR.