As you may have heard, Nic Greene, the guy I ran against in the last election, never actually bothered to get sworn in for the City Council seat on January 3. On January 10, he decided to get on Facebook and let the general community know.
First of all, the reason he gave was a little flimsy (he didn't like the school system and is moving to get away from it). That's not a snap decision, and probably not one he made entirely in the two months since the election. That means that at some point during his candidacy, if not the entire candidacy, he knew he had no intention of taking the job he was asking the community to give him. That was unethical on his part, and on the part of any of the elected officials who knew about it and endorsed him anyway. It all comes down to the issues I blogged about on The Inside View on the post "What's One of the Most Disturbing Things You've Seen or Heard?"
Second of all, since I was running against him and have run for City Council a few times now, the question of whether I intend to run again has come up.
I had a hunch this would happen, but not enough proof to tell anybody. So, I've been thinking about whether or not to run again since the last election.
As it stands now, I am NOT inclined to run for City Council again at this time.
I ran for office because I wanted to help multiple community segments that had no voice in the local government, not because I needed or wanted a political career or a government job. My primary goal is, and always has been, to get more resident involvement and representation in the government.
People seem to think that running for office is the most important part of what I do. To me, it's not. I always saw public office as ONE way to increase citizen engagement and representation. And considering I am an outsider here (a TRUE outsider, not a poser), it probably isn't even the best way. At least not for now.
Aside from my constant, vigilant presence at City Hall, the most effective things I've done have been the meeting recordings, and my blog.
I actually got very sick during my last run for office and couldn't go door to door the way I needed to. I was forced to stay home; read articles and watch presentations from journalists, lawyers, and other watchdogs; email them with follow-up questions. As a result, I got a LOT better at digging up information about what's going on, and the blog got 10 times better than it was when I started it. It's only going to get better, and therefore, more effective as I continue to learn.
NO ONE at City Hall likes being recorded or my blog because of the level of scrutiny under which it places them. Legally, I have every right to record them at public meetings, and there's little or nothing they can do about it without opening themselves up to a lawsuit. They also seem to have a healthy respect for the blog, because it is not the typical social media rant. It is a well-written, well-documented, and candid look at YOUR government that you didn't get before, and don't get anywhere else.
My feeling is that running for office takes away from all that. There are times when I have held back somewhat in the blog because I worried about how voters might perceive what I say, especially when it comes to speaking about other candidates. I'm looking forward to making a more thorough commentary on this race as a private citizen.
Initially, I thought serving in office would provide me with significantly more insight into what's going on at City Hall. But, I have already seen a lot. And I'm always seeing more. Since I've been doing this, my list of contacts in the community has grown larger. I've also learned much more about what information is available from various sources, and how to best obtain it.
Continuing to share that information is going to do more to achieve the goal of increasing citizen engagement and representation than running for office will right now. I have been working on that goal consistently during, and between every campaign for office. It matters more to me than a seat next to people who consistently demonstrate that they don't share that goal.
I have gone into meetings and spoken directly to the Mayor, Council, DDA, and Planning Commission. I've spoken to employees. They never cared what I had to say. Now that I'm saying it out in front of people with the blog, they care. I've heard them respond to things I've mentioned in my blog posts or on Facebook during meetings. That tells me that they know that viewpoint exists in the community and want to address it with their sad excuses before it gains momentum. Maybe they knew that viewpoint was out there all along and now feel they can no longer ignore it. Perhaps they're getting phone calls or emails asking them about things I tell people.
So far, they're not so concerned that they are making real changes. But, as the community becomes more informed, I believe the community will continue to become more involved.
In the last election, 359 people voted for me. If only 10% of those people consistently showed up to meetings and refused to accept bad attitudes, excuses, and typical government misbehavior, this town would be a much better place. You would rightfully run this town instead of having it run you off.
All that being said, I did enjoy running for office. It gave me an excuse to go around knocking on doors and talking to all of you lovely people, which I always enjoy. I'm incredibly grateful for the support I got while campaigning, on Election Day, and always afterward.
I'm just an average person with no political connections to do me any favors and make the job easier for me. I never promise anyone any money or favors for votes. And, I don't disrespect any churches by using them for political purposes. Not too many people who have run for office can honestly say that.
Given all that, I am pretty proud of my vote counts, and the fact that they've grown steadily with each election. It shows that the ideas I represent and give voice to are quite common in the community and have a strength of their own that is impressive.
And who knows? Maybe one day, all of the citizens with those ideas will be a little louder, a little more engaged, and another run might make better sense.
Until then, I've got some open records requests to submit, some folks to interview, and blog posts to write.
See you at the next meeting, in the citizen section. Where the REAL power is.