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Since we moved to San Diego County, I have been involved with our local Democratic club. In addition to attending meetings, I’ve done some GOTV activities for local elections during the past few years.
Last week, the guy in charge of candidate recruitment called me and asked “How would you like to run for office?” I was taken aback because it had never occurred to me to run for any kind of office. (I did run for, and win, a seat in the Democratic Party of Erie County when I was still living in Pennsylvania, but I was unopposed.) The office in question is a seat on the board of directors of the local public utility overseeing municipal water and sewer service. There are 5 seats, all currently held by Republicans. Being rural, the region leans Republican, and the make-up of the board reflects the days when all seats were at-large. Now the various seats represent particular districts, and two of the districts have substantial Democratic majorities. Hence, two of these seats on the board ought to be held by Democrats. One of the board seats in a Democratic district is up for election this November, and the recruiter said I lived in that district.
Being a (retired) chemist, I actually have some expertise to bring to the table. I know the general physical and chemical properties of water, the formation of solutions, methods of purification, and so on. If that weren’t enough, my father was a plumber! I would have to get up to speed on budgets and logistics and the rest, but I can learn that stuff as I go.
[I should say that the public utility board, as it is currently constituted, has actually been doing a decent job of late. They have worked to make changes that will reduce the cost of water to local consumers. However, it’s not clear how much of that savings has filtered down to consumers.]
So I said yes, I’ll run for the seat. Timing was crucial. The deadline for candidate filing for all offices is August 9. The next club meeting was August 1, when they would vote on whether or not to endorse me (as well as other endorsements). Two hours before the club meeting, there was a candidate’s meeting to get everyone up to speed on what they need to do to file properly, while presenting the least exposure to attacks from their GOP opponents. Among the things that help a candidate’s prospects are the candidate’s statement (published in the voters’ guide), lawn signs, and door-knocking. I was able to come up with a decent candidate statement without too much help, but I found the thought of having my name around town on lawn signs to be mortifying. Nonetheless, I was willing to do it.
At the August 1 meeting, I gave my speech to the assembled members, and I did pretty well, I think. I even got a laugh out of them (mentioning that my father was a plumber and my collection of inherited pipe wrenches), and I was duly endorsed.
The next day, I drove down to the county Registrar of Voters to pick up the forms I had to fill out and return by August 9. It was there that the woman serving me pointed out that I did not actually live in the district in which I intended to run, and therefore was not eligible to run for the seat. I was incredulous (though I tried not to show it), but I asked if I could see the map of the districts in order to prove that I truly didn’t live in the designated district. She took me down to the maps facility (which is all computers now, of course), and I saw the map. It turns out that the street I live on is the dividing line between two of the districts, and I live on the wrong side of the street to run for the seat on the ballot this year. Stupid. Discussing this with the candidate recruiter, he said that when he called the utility, they had told him my address was in the district when it turned out not to be. [Note to self: Don’t trust what others tell you—check it out for yourself.]
So my adventure in participating in an election as a potential candidate lasted only slightly more than a week. On the other hand, I learned that I live in the other district with a Democratic majority, and that seat comes up for a vote in 2026, so there may still be an election in my future.
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