After the disaster on Mount Everest in 1996, author Jon Krakauer immediately wrote an article about what happened. He was criticized for writing it while he was in an "emotional" state. Feel free to level that criticism at me for the following.
I lost in my election for Assmebly District delegate, and I was stupid to ever think I had a chance. (Though audacity is the mark of bold leaders, when it doesn't work out, it's EPIC FAIL time. heh.) And I didn't even come in last. I feel sorry for whoever did. I tried to crash the gate, but it crashed me.
I diaried my efforts on Day 1, why I was a "crash the gate" candidate, Day 2, leafletting the Farmer's Market, and Day 3, regional tensions within the district. Today, I'll take a look at what I did wrong.
There's no one factor in why I lost. I needed to approximately double my total to be elected. The reason I was a "crash the gate" candidate, above all else, is that my strategy, such as it was, was to bring more people into the process and hope to persuade them. To that end, I did ads on Air America, I did huge to the point of annoying e-mail blasts, and things like leafletting. This was a fatal blunder.
The reason for that is obvious because of the results. There were only 8 female candidates out of six places. The dynamics were different. But of the 6 out of 14 men, each one had an "inside the gate" constituency that supported them. I won't name names, but I will point this out. Four were officers of regional, officially "chartered" Democratic clubs. One was the Democratic Central Committee Chairman (the body that officially "charters" the clubs), and another was president of a union local.
The average age of the candidates was 54. The average age of the male victors was 45, thanks to one of the winners being 22. Every single winner, male and female, if my recollection is correct is non-hispanic white. (Maybe there was one Hispanic female, based on name.) No one that won has anything to do with the largely Hispanic, yet equally populous Santa Barbara County portion of the District.
My fatal blunder of trying to increase participation was a mistake for at least two reasons. It actually may have worked to some extent. I have no way of knowing if it was my publicity, but we ran out of ballots at one point. I doubt it, unless that just brought people not votes for me. First, it was fatal because in a vote for twelve environment, you have to have a strong relationship to keep people to voting for just you, which if the optimal solution.
Second, this process was designed to be by, for, and of the inside the gaters. There's a two hour window to show up and vote in one place, approximately one hour away from many parts of the district.
So, as I prefaced, my feelings are a little raw. Do I think I deserved to win? No. But that's the thing. No one deserves it, or else there wouldn't be an election. There would be appointments. Yet the speeches, with rare exception, were about how much money someone has donated, how long they've been president of some club, etc. not so much about what issues they want to pursue to fix California.
There were some really amazing candidates. There were two women especially with whom I was very impressed.
While I'm on the subject of raw feelings, I want to express that against my general nature, I smiled, shook hands, was positive to everyone, wished my opponents luck, even after I got tired of the whole thing. Two of the other candidates (who also lost) had some really shitty things to say to me. One told me that I was essentially retarded for not being on the slate. My overtures there were refused. Another mocked me for "trying too hard." Well, maybe if that individual had tried harder instead, he would have won. He got a little closer than I did. Prick.
Another non-candidate (but someone who has lost a few elections) accosted me because my flyers weren't "union printed." I printed them at my house and my wife is in the teachers' union. I guess that doesn't count. I used recycled paper (not that he cared, or that anyone else did).
What the hell is that about? I'm disappointed that I lost, but I'm saddened that Democrats of all people essentially would be better off settling their grassroots elections with, erm, a ruler, than with elections. I felt like that fake Grammy for lifetime achievement was being handed out. When I was working on the Obama campaign in Nevada, there was a spirit of shared purpose. Is it already gone?
So, attempted inclusion of non-thralls was my failure. What was the winning route? Driving all over the district to every Democratic club and talking them into to voting for me. Ring kissing, to put it politely. The folks that did that are on their way to Sacramento.
Many of the candidates have done more for the party than I have. Others have not. That is clearly not the relevant factor. My resume isn't bad.
In the end, the gate crashed me, right between the eyes. Tomorrow, it's back to work, and back to my organizing with a group of Obama volunteers to do our food bank drive for the National Day of Service next weekend.