How to Run for Office: Difference between revisions

I will not lie to you and tell you that running for office is easy, because it is not.  It is a lot of work, but it is very rewarding work.  If you already feel somewhat overwhelmed in your daily life, I would not recommend running.  However, if you have a little free time for a few months at the beginning of the election cycle, I cannot think of many better ways to spend the time.

''' What are you up against?'''

A good idea, before you decide whether or not you will run, is to investigate your district and your potential opponent(s).  You may find that the constituency might not like the incumbent, or that they love him.  You may find that you agree with your potential opponent about more than you disagree.   

Learning about your opponent is a good activity to do before you collect your signatures, because the people signing to get you on the ballot will be asking lots of questions.  It is a good idea to know where they are coming from.  

Another thing to keep in mind are local issues.  It would be helpful for you to know what people in your district are concerned about, rather than just blindly running into their questions.  Some issues are easy to uncover.  When I was running, everyone, Fenway Park and the question of eminent domain talked about the big issue, and therefore it was easy to find information about it.  However, there were a great deal of other smaller issues like the cost of rent and public transportation that were important to people.   

In addition to local issues, there are also personal issues, both for you and your constituency.  You should be able to articulate what you believe needs to be done about your issues.  You should understand why you feel the way you do and have good logical evidence to back-up your positions.  The people you talk with will be interested to hear about your thoughts in many cases.  However, they will also expect you to be interested in what they have to say, and not just about the big issues.  People have their own personal issues and they will ask you questions about the things that are important to them.  For example, I got a lot of questions about dogs.  See, living in the city, many dog owners find it hard to find space for their dogs to exercise to maintain their health, so dog owners were concerned and asked me (a non-dog owner) about my opinions.  While the issue of dog’s rights  (leash laws, dog space, etc.) was a city issue, I still had to give a response even though I ran for a state position.  Do not let yourself be caught off guard, as people will have interesting questions for you and they will expect an intelligently considered answer.  If you do not feel comfortable giving them one on the spot, take their contact information and get back to them, promptly.  People will respect you for that just as much, if not more, than if you gave them an answer up front.

''' Getting on the ballot'''

Getting on the ballot is the first hurdle in running for office.  The number of signatures will vary depending on the position you would like to run for, the state, and the status of your party.  For me, it was 150 valid signatures.  A valid signature is one that is legible, of a registered voter who lives at the registered address, and who is from your party of un-enrolled.  (If your party does not have major party status, you may be able to collect signatures regardless of the party in which a person is enrolled.)  

To get the forms you need, the “nomination papers”, you will need to go to your local election office.  The people there will be able to answer some of your questions pertaining to “qualified” signatures and numbers of signatures.