Down The Sewer Pipe – Politically Speaking

There are five things that we need to cover first before we continue the discussion.

5. Have a working relationship and understanding of the United States Constitution.

            Every state in the union has a constitution and its basis is the United States Constitution.  All local laws, referred to as ordinances, must conform to both the state constitution and the United States of America constitution.

            Working knowledge of the founding document will assist you in making good local ordinances that avoid constitutional pit falls.  If it conforms to the Federal Constitution, then it will conform to the state one, and your community will not have to pay to defend your ordinance in court.  Because there will not be a challenge to it so conflict is avoided, and money can be put to better use.

4. Know what your own ideologies are.

You need to write down what your own important never give an inch ideologies are.  Staying true to yourself is not easy.  Voting for a fellow council person’s pet project so you can have them vote on yours will soon lead you away from what you believe. 

When you know what you stand for and why you will also avoid fad things because you will have an adequate look at the larger picture and see crackpot ideas when they appear.

3. Know what the local campaigns are and if they are unforced.

            To run for office, you need to know who monitors the election, how to sign up to run for office, if there are filing fees, when signs can go up and when they can be taken down, disclosure statements and with whom filed, etc.  The local election board can be a wealth of information.

2. Be prepared to settle for half of what you really want.

            Never become so in love with an idea that there is no place for a compromise, this will make you look unreasonable if not more like a dictator.  Getting half of what you want is not bad and over 8 years or more, you will look like one of the good “guys” and becoming elected to the office again or a different office will be easier.

1. Most importantly be absolutely certain you are the best person for the job.

Sounds like a bit of egotism to say but you need to be convinced that you and you alone are the best person to fill the office.  You do not need to know all the answers, being able to learn is a good thing, but you need to be convinced that you are the best person to do this.

Remember no one becomes elected because they are smarter than the other person, or wiser, or a better public speaker (just look at George Bush).  The reason they are elected is because they got more votes than the other whoever is running for the same office.