Forging America: My Campaign Manager is Roosevelt-Chapter 58 - 45: Pre-War Preparations

After setting the tone for the campaign, Frank and Sarah both assumed Leo would immediately call a meeting to discuss holding a grand press conference and formally announcing his run for Mayor of Pittsburgh.

But Leo, unexpectedly, hit the pause button.

He told everyone to remain focused on their current tasks.

Frank continued to oversee ground mobilization and construction supervision at the work sites.

Sarah continued to run the Pittsburgh Heart channel, posting daily videos on the project’s progress.

Everything seemed to be business as usual, as if yesterday’s momentous decision had never been made.

In Leo’s mind, Roosevelt was giving him one last lesson before the campaign began.

"My boy, never fire the first shot of a war before all preparations are complete." Roosevelt’s voice was extremely serious.

"The moment you formally announce your candidacy to the media, you are officially declaring war on Mayor Carter Wright and the entire Establishment Faction behind him."

"From that moment on, you will lose the advantage of quietly building up your strength. Your every move will be scrutinized by your enemies under a microscope. They will use all their resources to attack you, smear your name, and try to crush you before you can even get started."

"So, before you officially declare war, you must accomplish three crucial things."

"First, you must turn your home base into an impregnable fortress."

"Second, you must stockpile enough supplies and ammunition for the long war ahead."

"Third, you must do everything possible to weaken your enemy and win over any potential external allies."

Over the next few days, Leo began issuing a series of specific directives to his team, following the pre-war framework Roosevelt had laid out.

He first called Frank and Sarah into his modular office.

"Before we formally announce my candidacy, we must achieve a tangible, milestone victory with the ’Pittsburgh Revival Plan One’—one that every citizen of Pittsburgh can see and feel for themselves."

He pointed to the project progress chart and said, "Our first concrete goal is to fully complete all renovation work in the community of our Site Three within the next three months."

"I don’t just want all the roads in the community to be completely redone. I also want all the parks reopened for the children, and I want all the apartment buildings to stop leaking."

"Then, we’ll hold a grand community relaunch ceremony there. We’ll invite the citizens and media from all over Pittsburgh to come and see for themselves what kind of change we’ve brought to this city."

In his mind, Roosevelt explained the strategic intent behind this directive.

"Leo, you have to understand that community isn’t just a construction project. It will become your most important showcase of governance when you run for Mayor."

"When Carter Wright and his allies attack you in the media, questioning you as just some hot-headed kid who’s all slogans and no real governing experience, you won’t need to debate them."

"You’ll just need to bring all the reporters to that community, point to the new roads and the smiling faces of the children, and tell everyone, ’This is my answer.’"

"A single, tangible achievement is more persuasive than ten thousand pretty campaign slogans."

Next, Leo gave Sarah his second directive.

"Sarah, I need you to secretly begin preparations to launch our campaign fundraising committee."

"We can’t start fundraising publicly yet; that would reveal our intentions too early."

"We’re going to quietly build our own database of core supporters."

"I need you to lead a small, reliable team to do a full review and analysis of all the user data from the backend of our Pittsburgh Heart channel."

"Everyone who has ever donated to us, everyone who has left supportive comments on our videos, everyone who participated in the events to protect our community center..."

"Compile all of their information into a detailed database: their names, contact info, occupations, the communities they live in..."

"Then, from that database, we need to identify the most high-value core supporters. For example, community opinion leaders, small business owners who’ve made large donations, influential figures in the Union..."

"You and Frank need to personally reach out and have one-on-one, confidential conversations with these people. Tell them our plan and get them on board as our first seed donors for the campaign launch."

"We need to make sure that on the day we officially announce my candidacy, our donation account already has a starting fund large enough to shock everyone."

Frank and Sarah accepted their assignments and left.

The entire team began their intense and meticulous pre-war preparations.

As for Leo, he prepared to tackle the third and most crucial task himself.

Weaken the enemy and win over external allies.

He picked up the phone and dialed Congressman John Murphy’s number.

On the other end of the line, Representative Murphy sounded to be in high spirits.

"Leo, my hero!" Murphy greeted him enthusiastically. "I was just about to call you. I’m heading back to Pittsburgh next week. We have to grab a drink and celebrate our victory."

Leo skipped the pleasantries and told Murphy straight out that he was planning to run for Mayor of Pittsburgh.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line from Representative Murphy.

"I had a feeling, Leo," Murphy said. "Back when you were running circles around Carter Wright, I knew a little thing like the City Revitalization Committee wouldn’t be enough to satisfy your appetite."

He immediately made his position clear.

"I’ll support you completely."

"Leo, you need me, and I need you," Murphy’s tone grew serious. "A Pittsburgh City Government led by you would be my most stable and important political ally on the local level."

"As a show of good faith, I can offer you two things you need most right now."

"First, a fundraising pipeline."

"I’ll immediately forward your profile and what you’ve accomplished in Pittsburgh to a few Progressive political action committees in Washington, like Democratic Future and Our Revolution."

"These organizations have tens of millions of US Dollars at their disposal. Their entire purpose is to find and support rising political stars like you—people who dare to challenge the Establishment Faction."

"If you can get their backing, your problem with startup funds for the campaign will be solved instantly."

"Second, professional talent."

"I know your little team has a lot of passion and fighting spirit, but a mayoral-level election is a completely different beast from the community protests you’ve been organizing. You lack professional campaign experience."

"My campaign manager, Karen Miller... I know you may not be a fan of hers, but she really is one of the best poll data analysts and election law experts in all of Pennsylvania."

"I’ll loan her out from my team temporarily to serve as a senior advisor on your campaign. She’ll help you build a professional campaign staff and prevent you from making mistakes on the most basic rules."

Roosevelt’s voice echoed in Leo’s mind.

"A textbook political transaction."

"He gives you money and people. In return, after you’re elected, you’ll have to repay his ’goodwill’ by giving him priority on Pittsburgh City’s municipal projects and key appointments."

"As for this Karen woman, she’s both a professional sent to help you and a watchdog Murphy has placed by your side. Use her expertise, but never trust her completely."

Representative Murphy’s two offers were already a massive show of support for Leo.

But he knew it wasn’t enough to win this war.

"Congressman, your support is crucial," Leo said. "The funding and professional talent will allow us to build a proper army, but I still need a banner—a banner that can rally all the progressive forces."

Leo paused, then said, "I need a formal endorsement from Senator Daniel Sanders."

Hearing the name, Representative Murphy hesitated.

"Leo, you sure know how to ask for a lot," he said. "An endorsement from Senator Sanders isn’t just a word of support. It’s a signal. It tells every progressive organization and media outlet in the country that your election in Pittsburgh is a fight they must watch and support."

"It’ll bring you a huge amount of attention and more resources, but at the same time, it will also make you a primary target for the national Republican Party. It’s a double-edged sword."

Murphy considered this for a moment before making his decision.

"Alright, I’ll reach out to him, but I can’t guarantee the outcome. Daniel only backs fighters he personally believes in."

After hanging up, Leo asked Roosevelt in his mind.

"Mr. President, we already got Senator Sanders’s contact information at the dinner in Philadelphia. Why don’t we seek his support ourselves? Why do we have to go through Murphy?"

"Two reasons, my boy," Roosevelt explained. "First, never go over your direct ally to connect with the big fish behind them, not unless you’re ready to burn that bridge."

"Political alliances are built on trust. Bypassing Murphy would be a public insult to his capabilities and his standing."

"Second, and more importantly, you have to learn to get your allies to invest in you."

"By having him do something difficult for you, you force him to invest more political capital into your alliance. It’s a reverse debt of favor; it actually binds you two more closely together."