In a turn of events that I never would have expected, my local Democratic Party county chair has asked me to consider running for town council. There are very few elected Democrats in our area, so she's very keen to try to change that - and to put a heartbeat back into what was essentially a dead party before she became chair. I should have ruled the idea out immediately - but I didn't.
I live in a red county, in a red state (I'm not quite willing yet to say exactly where I am). There were no Democrats running for any county offices during the 2014 midterm elections. In fact, outside of statewide races such as State Auditor and Secretary of State, there were only three Democrats for lower level races on my midterm ballot. Surprisingly, my hometown actually has three elected Democrats - two on the three-person town council, and the clerk-treasurer (who is my cousin). Neither the county chair nor myself knew that two of the current council members are Democrats, and my cousin responded that they don't act like Democrats.
I said before that I should have immediately discarded the idea as soon as it was suggested. I assume anyone reading this will be curious as to why, so follow me below the fold and you can tell me if I'm right or wrong...
Before I start on that aspect of this diary, I want to preface by saying that I don't consider the following to be a barrier for any involvement. The county chair asked me at the previous meeting to consider becoming a precinct committeeman, to which I agreed at our meeting this past Saturday.
The issues that I see with me becoming a candidate:
1) I'm 27 years old - which, in and of itself, is neither inherently negative or positive.
2) I'm a college graduate (both an associate degree and a bachelor degree), but I don't use either degree. I work as a pharmacy technician, a position that does not require a degree of any sort.
3) I still live with my parents. Due to bad decisions made during college, I have approximately $40,000 in student loan debt, which would make my financial position extremely precarious if I attempted to rent an apartment - and forget about trying to pay a mortgage.
4) I'm not as familiar with the players in town or in the county, or any of the issues facing the town and surrounding area, as I feel a candidate should be.
As I see it, the first item is only a problem in combination with the others. Being younger may, in fact, be a positive, as town residents in their late twenties/early thirties aren't well-represented on the town council outside of my cousin the clerk-treasurer. The fourth item is workable - as the county chair reminded me, my cousin is an elected official already, knows the lay of the land, and could help me to prepare. And as my cousin pointed out, during the last municipal election in 2011, she was the only candidate who actually got out and campaigned. She walked the town and knocked on every door, but the council members and the incumbent clerk she unseated did nothing beyond putting their names on paper.
Issues two and three are the big ones for me. Given what little I feel that I've accomplished in life so far, I don't see myself as being able to offer much to the town as a candidate or as an elected council member. I was reminded by both my cousin and the county chair that our current state house representative is younger than me, lives in his parent's basement, and had very little employment history prior to being elected to the state house two years ago (he was re-elected for his second two-year term in the 2014 midterms). While all of that is true, such lack of qualification isn't something that I find admirable in the individuals that the Republican Party is willing to back.
I also have little in the way of political experience so far. In high school, I attended the American Legion's Hoosier Boys State program. In 2007, I volunteered for a Democratic mayoral campaign in a nearby city, making calls and performing a literature drop. After that, I didn't volunteer for another campaign until last year, when I spent a few hours knocking on doors and talking to people for a state representative candidate in a nearby city. I've attended both of the two most recent county party meetings, and I've attended one district meeting (another one is coming up in a couple weeks - I can't decide whether or not to go, as the location this time will be a one-hour drive one-way). I volunteered as a poll worker during the 2014 general election, so I have done something for the county party, but that's minor involvement so far.
To anyone who has actually read (or even skimmed) this whole thing, what do you think? Am I right to be skeptical about this idea, or do you think I should go for it anyway? Naturally, the actual decision will be made by consulting the people in my life, but I don't think it hurts to get opinions from people who don't know me.
Thank you.