If we can agree on nothing else, can we all agree that we are happy to be done with campaign season? As a rookie politician (who never imagined my name would appear on a ballot. Ever. Anywhere.) I am certainly glad to have this season behind me. I have a new appreciation for everyone who steps into the political arena with hopeful and ethical intentions. Here are some random nuggets of wisdom that I picked up along the way....
1. Politics is 100% rigged in favor of people who have money.
Filing paperwork to get your name on the ballot is actually free. That is about the ONLY thing that will be free during the life of your campaign. Want to have a candidate statement published in the voters guide? $750. Yes, you heard that right. $750 to sell yourself for what is essentially a volunteer position. Lawn signs? $20 each, and significantly more for bigger sizes. Post cards? Buttons? Brochures? Stickers? Those all cost money. Radio, print, or web ads add up even faster. If you've got generous friends and family, this might not be a huge hurdle. For my very small, local campaign, I raised around $1,000 from small donors. Nearly all of my donors were people that I know personally.
Throughout the process I couldn't help but think about highly qualified candidates who might not have friends who can easily pitch in $50, or those who can't afford to donate their own personal funds for campaign efforts. How do they manage? They have to work a lot harder. Or, they just opt out.
This is a very small example on a very small scale of how money impacts politics. When you start to look at state or federal races....the money pouring into those campaigns is staggering. It is no wonder why or how the rich stay in power at all levels of government.
2. The environmental impact of campaigning is staggering.
Oh man, Mother Earth. I'm really sorry. Millions of postcards, t-shirts, plastic yard signs, magnets, etc are heading to the landfill today. Ugh.
3. Your voter data is easily accessible by people you would NOT want to know where you live.
In our county, it costs $40 for any candidate on the ballot to get a list of every registered voter in their jurisdiction. This list includes name, email, phone number, mailing address, physical address and political party affiliation. You can even request voting history to see which people have actually showed up at the polls to cast a ballot during the past few years. I don't know about you, but there are plenty of people in politics who I would prefer NOT have access to my personal information. In the state of CA, there is currently no opt out provision. If you are a registered voter, your information is for sale to any candidate that requests it.
4. It takes a village.
When I decided to run for re-election on the County School Board, I didn't anticipate doing much more beyond filing my papers and getting my name on the ballot. When the pool of candidates grew deep with convicted felons and people openly advocating for the destruction systems of support for students, I rolled up my sleeves a bit and put some energy into campaigning. This is not a race that I ran alone. Friends, family, acquaintances, colleagues and total strangers showed up for me in ways that kept optimistic and determined throughout election season. I have deep gratitude for everyone who donated, put up a lawn sign, drove around town with my car magnet on their vehicle, wrote postcards, wore buttons, offered pep talks, designed campaign materials, delivered swag to various locations, talked me up to friends and family, shared social media posts, offered campaign strategy wisdom, and hosted candidate events. Every bit of this support was appreciated and makes me more determined to be a stronger champion for others when they step into the ring to run for public office.
While the final results are still being tallied, it doesn't look like I will be continuing on the Board of Education past November. I don't view this as a loss. It is a reallocation of my energy to other spaces. There is plenty of good work to be done, maybe after some processing of all the emotions and a long nap.
If you need me, I'll be working on my campaign swag recycled art project, until I spot the next Bat Signal.
