While the media continue to focus on who is in charge and who has the power of the Senate Chamber, we approach the third week of the well-reported impasse in the New York State Senate. And lucky us, it appears we now have both a legislative and a communications stalemate. It took fifteen days—and a resolution for extraordinary session from the Governor of NY—for the full 62 members of the Senate to coalesce in their Chamber. There, they did nothing. Or did they?

As a child, I was enamored with the cartoon “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” (see video clip below) and, of course, his twin sister’s spin off show, “She-Ra the Princess of Power.” Much like the cartoon, it seems the stunning 19th century building known as the New York State Capitol has turned into the fictional fortress Castle Grayskull.

To recap the events leading up to this metaphoric transformation: Divided 31-31 on June 23rd, the Senators each decided to hold their own session, with separate gavels, in the same Chamber, at the same time. There, they voted and passed a slate of legislation, the legality of which is in question. In fact, the lights, cameras and even a bit of audio made their way to the television screen. Conveniently, half of the Senators who spoke were censored (there was no video or audio of them at all) from the conference that campaigned on the promise of transparency.

This is what is transparent: This is a crisis situation. Be fearful of how the negatives associated with this face-off have affected your brand (the Senate) and your reputation (as an elected official). Beyond rapid response, there is a clear lack of communications strategy on both sides of the leadership battle. In order to protect both your integrity and your reputation at this point, it’s time to implement a “post-stalemate” strategy.

Reputation management is widely used in this era of the digital communications revolution to make sure your side of the story is always present. And in political communications, it’s essentially used to measure trustworthiness before your next election. In order to move beyond Albany’s gridlock, you’re going to need to repair all the negatives, and do it quickly. Remember, the longer this stalemate continues, the further engrained in one’s memory it becomes.

A few ideas to assist with the communication crisis:

Stop the gimmicks: Senators, you aren’t Masters of the Universe. We—the taxpayers who pay your salary—are. There is a hard-and-fast deadline for some very serious issues on local levels that will cost us more if you don’t act. The Democrats would plan slumber parties in the Chamber just to control the gavel, and Republicans would hold “faux” sessions just to make their point until next year’s elections unless the public steps up. Senators, take note: As constituents and concerned citizens of the state of New York, the gimmicks have backfired and possibly made us even angrier.

Wash, rinse, repeat: Stop reacting like He-Man and exclaiming, “I have the power.” Instead, be proactive. As in almost any situation, your strategy should be to stay on message and continue to deliver it clearly and concisely through a multitude of outlets. If it is a message of rules reform and/or bipartisan coalition government, push it, because we have not heard enough of it.

A mentor of mine often reiterated “repetition, repetition, repetition” when teaching us to promote an issue. Studies suggest that that familiarity with a message, brought about by repetition, can increase processing of that message. This is where repetition can be your friend; make sure you make your point at least three times for someone to remember it.

Do not allow the lawyers to direct communications messaging: Beyond all the drama of Chamber activities, there has also been quite a bit of legal action taken by both sides. Top Counsel for both factions has dictated the media discussion of the day. The press corps is in court almost daily, with a judge and teams of lawyers reporting the outcome of litigation. The problem: No one understands legalese. The communications message here should easily resonate and the language should be simple and user-friendly so those of us who are following actually understand what’s going on.

It’s been more than two weeks. Both sides need to work their way through the stages of grief and arrive at acceptance before it’s too late. Perhaps Warren Buffett said it best: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”

Lisa Black is a veteran political communications professional specializing in strategic messaging, crisis communication and media relations in New York State. In 2007, Lisa was named one of City Hall News’, Rising Stars: Top 40 Under 40, The Next Generation of Political Leaders in New York. Black is currently consulting on several New York City and State campaigns. She can be reached at emaillisablack@gmail.com.