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I'm running for precinct Committeeman in my neighborhood. I think it's a worthwhile experience for anyone who thinks they might be interested in real politics. To use a sports metaphor, everyone likes watching the major league games and they fantasize about being one of the big players. No one realizes that there's a ton of poo poo that they had to slog through on their way to the top. Here's my specific suggestion to anyone interested in getting involved: 1. Figure out what jurisdictions you are in. You can check your voter registration card or maybe the County Recorder's office. 2. Contact your party's state office and ask them for a contact email address with a local party office. It'll probably be like 10 people in a tiny rented room or something. This is local politics. 3. Run for precinct committeeman. 4. Oh poo poo, this sucks and it's totally not worth the effort. Why am I doing this to myself?
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Jun 22, 2014 07:53
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site posted:I'd love to hear more about this, if you're willing to expand on it. Especially in a diary/daily agenda-style format. I realize this isn't LiveJournal, but so often these things are described in generalities it would be interesting and helpful to read what the actual day-in-the-life of a candidate is! The process wasn't too involved. I went to a local meeting for my legislative district with my PC paperwork already filled out with the exception of the 10 required signatures. All 10 had to come from within my precinct which includes two apartment complexes and a small neighborhood. It's not as easy as it sounds because all 10 have to be registered voters who are independent or your party. A representative from the State party was there and let me know that she'd give me a list of addresses to knock if I wanted. A few days later I had an email with about 50 houses of people who were registered to vote and were the right party. Here's the lovely part: Actually going out and getting the signatures. I live in Phoenix so it's like 90-110 degrees out. 80% of houses don't even answer the door. Of the remainder, half will sign and you'll have an awesome conversation.  I ran into a few jerks though. It's okay to say no, it sucks but it's ok. One guy was a straight up liar though. He insisted that someone wearing the same campaign shirt as me had already come by and got a signature. First, I was wearing a T-shirt I got when I was in the Navy that had my ships's Crest on it, not a common shirt. Two, I'm the only person in my campaign. I was polite and said something like "Oh, that must have been a petition for someone else, I'm collecting signatures for my campaign" but the guy wouldn't let go of the lie. I'm guessing he's the kind of guy who complains about how all politicians are liars. They're just representing you, you lying jerk!
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Jun 22, 2014 22:34
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I think there's some potential for designing systems to help candidates get public funding. In Arizona there's a system where if you get a certain number of $5 donations, you get a small amount of money to run a campaign. It's not enough to win a competitive race but there were quite a few races that were unopposed. Those might be places that you could use that funding to force the other candidate to spend more than they would have otherwise which could add up if done statewide. I've got an IT related project that I think might be useful. A volunteer during the last election ended up getting the police called on him. He had set up a computer and a printer and was helping people print out proof of address outside the polling station. I think that's a great idea and I've been wondering if there's a way to make an extremely low profile setup at a low cost. Something like a tablet PC and a portable receipt printer. Edit: Boyko is dumb as hell.
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Nov 11, 2014 07:08
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