Case Study:

Behan Leads Communications on Two Successful Statewide Ballot Propositions

Behan Leads Communications on Two Successful Statewide Ballot Propositions

Behan Communications played a key role in winning statewide voter approval for two New York State constitutional amendments over a four-year period.

In 2017, Behan guided the Adirondack Association of Towns and Villages’ traditional and social media campaigns in support of Ballot Proposal #3, creating a “land bank” that will expand the state Forest Preserve AND make it easier for Adirondack and Catskills communities to complete important public health and safety infrastructure projects. The proposal was approved by voters on Election Day.

Our work helped secure positive news media attention and editorial endorsements from news outlets across the state. The Behan team also created and managed the VoteYesforTheAdirondacks.com website, as well as companion Facebook and Twitter campaigns that helped galvanize support for the proposal.

“The Behan team did a great job assisting AATV with Ballot Proposal #3,” said Bill Farber, Chairman of the Hamilton County Board of Supervisors. “You really only need to look at how close the results were, to know how important Behan was to our effort. It is pretty clear we would not have gotten this over the finish line without them.”

The Behan team also led communications for mining company NYCO Minerals Inc. on the victorious “Adirondack Land Swap” amendment in 2013. This amendment helped protect more than 100 New York State jobs while also expanding the state Forest Preserve.

The NYCO mine in the Adirondack Mountains had but a few years of life left. Once the limit was reached, the business and the jobs and communities it supported would be in jeopardy.

NYCO had one shot — persuade the voters of New York State to allow mining temporarily on 200 acres of Forever Wild Forest Preserve land in exchange for permanent ownership of 1,500 acres of pristine forests and streams.

NYCO entrusted the task to Behan, which organized and executed a data-driven statewide campaign including coalition building, media relations, mainstream and online advertising, targeted direct mail and electronic communications and public advocacy. The result: Endorsements from key newspapers across the state, as well as from environmental, labor and business groups; interviews in key television markets; and broad public support from state and local elected officials. On Election Day, for the first time in history, New York voters approved a land swap in the Adirondack Forest Preserve to benefit a private company, preserving essential jobs in an isolated rural community. For this campaign, Behan was awarded the prestigious Silver Anvil by the Public Relations Society of America.

Our Mission

Our firm exists because we believe in the power of words, images and ideas to enlighten, to inspire, to build understanding and to create opportunity. We exist because we believe deeply in a vibrant marketplace of ideas, products and services — a marketplace that is enriched by smart, fair and fearless competition. We exist to help great companies and organizations, large and small, succeed and prosper. Their success means a better life for all who depend on them — their employees, their customers, their suppliers, their communities.