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The DeMarco Factor: Transforming Public Will into Political Power, by Pertschuk, M.

A statewide ban on Saturday night specials and a state a trigger lock bill are passed over the heavily funded opposition of the National Rifle Association. A tobacco tax is passed in a tobacco growing state, and federal legislation gives the Food and Drug Administration control over tobacco products. WalMart is required to improve its health care policies for part-time employees. What do these policy changes have in common? The answer is the leadership of Vincent “Vinny” DeMarco, a sometimes rumpled appearing but always authentic and always effective citizen lobbyist. Michael Pertschuk’s, The DeMarco Factor, is actually two books in one. The first consists of three case studies of advocacy campaigns in which DeMarco played a leadership role: the Maryland Children’s Initiative; the Citizens’ Health Initiative’s Health Care for All Campaign; and the national Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. The second is an analysis of these campaigns, including the way in which DeMarco’s efforts correlate with a nine-question method for planning public policy campaigns developed by the Democracy Center, a West-coast-based training center for social and environmental justice advocates. His leadership style is also compared with a set of eight leadership roles developed by the Advocacy Institute, an advocacy training and support organization that Pertschuk co-founded in Washington, DC. The case studies reveal the careful and extensive listening involved in preparing the campaigns. He acquires a deep understanding about people’s positions on issues, the strengths and resources they bring to the campaign, and the ways in which these assets can be employed. Pertschuk also describes the pragmatism and flexibility required in policy advocacy, the goals that are compromised, and the ramifications that these compromises produce for fragile coalitions. Through interviews with family members, friends, co-workers, and opponents, Pertschuk captures the intellectual, political, and emotional dimensions of the campaigns DeMarco directed. It is not hard to get excited by the issues and challenges that he confronts, the defeats that block his strategies, and his ability to move beyond and overcome some of these challenges. The book is much more, however, than a