100% of The Political Campaigns I Have Helped Have Won
Which makes me one out of one!
Last night, the candidate I supported and volunteered my time for won her election for District 4 School Board. It was my first foray into local political elections, and it was a really great and positive experience. I met some great people, and I learned more about elections in general. I also learned that even local politics can be quite petty in ways that are somewhat hard to imagine or understand. Truthfully, I wasn't really all that surprised though.
The election for a school board candidate is by its nature a non-partisan race. The (D) or (R) is not listed next to the names of candidates. Theoretically this shouldn't matter when selecting those who are solely focused on improving education, but it's also a requirement by law, at least in Hamilton County, Tennessee. (Admittedly, much like with journalism, it's impossible to remove a bias or partisan lean completely).
To be honest, this is one of the main reasons I decided to participate in the local political process. Naturally, I have my own personal and fully formed opinions, but I do not always like to wear them on my sleeve. Interestingly, I had just gotten fired from a job, and although I was spending a lot of time applying and interviewing, I still needed something to do to fill in the rest of my days to avoid burnout and boredom. I felt that this was more productive than video games, though I did some of that too. #Witcher3 #PokemonGO
I learned that endorsements play a role in local elections. My candidate received all endorsements given during the process, even though she was a political first-timer. This said a lot about how the community was feeling about the incumbent, who had been in the office for eight years and had successfully made Hamilton County the worst performing district in the worst performing county in Tennessee! Yikes. It was time for a change, and the candidate I supported convinced the local newspaper and others that she could deliver the change needed.
I also learned much about the racial make-up of my district, which is the downtown district and considered the most diverse in the area. Of the people running for this District, 3 out of 4 were African American, including the incumbent. This is relevant in that the candidate who I was volunteering for happened to be a white woman - which represented a significant change based on the percentage of African American voters living within D4. This (somewhat unfortunately) makes her win much more significant, though I wish we could move beyond such thoughts at some point in our society.
Lastly, I wanted to mention a few examples of political pettiness that were somewhat surprising to me for a school board election (still an important office, but we're not talking about a Senator or Mayor here). Again, surprising but not shockingly so.
1. "Undercover Meet & Greet" - My wife and I offered to host several neighbors at our home during the campaign so that they could meet Tiffanie and see why we supported her and her positions. We had really good and meaningful conversations with everyone, and thought the event went pretty well. We later discovered that our neighbors across the street were operating "undercover" for another of the D4 candidates (a fact they failed to mention, including that they were blood related!) This was obviously really disappointing to Megan and me because we thought of it as both a way to help a candidate we supported AND an opportunity to meet with and socialize with our neighbors. Let's just say today we are less inclined to invite that particular neighbor back over after the deception we experienced. All she had to do was say, "hey, I am supporting this candidate but I think it's important to hear from others as well."
2. "Infamous Sign Stroller Attack of 2016" - This was pretty cut and dry...someone took the time in the heat of Summer to repeatedly ram a perfectly good stroller into one of our large candidate signs at a corner in the district. I am not sure what they intended to convey with this demonstration, but it did not seem to work well enough to secure a win for the candidate they were supporting. (This was not an accident by the way - it was so obviously purposeful that it truly was hard to believe. But I snapped a photo. See below.)
3. "Stop Sign Violence!" - I am not sure what was going on with the signs during this election, but it was also made apparent that at least 100 signs were taken from their locations, ripped in half, then dumped in the Tennessee River. What did the individuals committing this "signicide" think this would accomplish? It is also really bad that they were so willing to litter in a river with a bad reputation historically (one that TN residents have worked hard for decades to improve) for its poor cleanliness. This looks really bad on the campaigns who were complicit with this, but I think their effort might have been better spent going door to door and figuring out what students and parents wanted from their school board representative.
At the end of the day, and ignoring the silliness, this election was really neat to watch as it progressed. I was proud to volunteer my time and also found a deep sense of pride last night during the watch party for having won. I have aspirations one day for political office, but this was a perfect way to be introduced to the process without putting myself out there before I am ready. If you have EVER considered supporting local elections, do not hesitate to do so if you find a candidate or candidates you can get behind and feel will represent you and your neighbors and friends well. -EB
