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Running for Office
Vol. 1, No. 4--Post-Election, 2004
In the following article, PDA's own Laura Bonham describes her campaign for public office in Utah. She demonstrated how we can take control of both our own lives and of the political direction this country takes, eipitomizing PDA's grassroots strategy. We at PDA are very proud of her courageous efforts and are confident that, should she choose to run again, she will have a much better outcome next time.
A perspective on the Utah State House of Representatives race, District 53
By Laura Bonham / Western Regional PDA Field Coordinator, and Utah Progressive Caucus Co-Chair
Win or lose, I have done my civic duty. That is what I kept telling myself as I struggled with the day to day of running a campaign against an entrenched Republican who has served six terms and is expected to become the Speaker of the House when re-elected.
I am a Democratic woman facing incredible odds in a gerrymandered district that defies reason. It was to be a tough battle from the beginning; but this election was probably the last before my opponent consolidates his power and becomes permanently ensconced in office. I figured that with a good organization and proper funding, the underdog might win. What a naïve view that was.
I am probably different than most folks when it comes to voting. I believe that as many different people as possible should hold public office, as often as possible. This prevents an entrenched and narrow point of view often clouded by special interests from taking root in our government. Sure there are elected positions, mostly administrative that should not be affected by partisan elections; but for the most part, it is good for our democracy to have new perspectives enter into the mix on a regular basis. Change is part of life and change is good. I am clearly in the minority on this one.
When it comes to elected officials, most voters believe that change is not good. This leads to the heart of the matter. Change is the one thing that disrupts the flow of power in a Government that has become a power play. The longer one is there, the more powerful that politician becomes. The question should be how that power is used, not how much power has been accumulated.
I have watched over the course of my campaign the loss of endorsements from groups who would by all accounts be my natural constituents just because my opponent, if re-elected, will likely become the Speaker of the House. These groups, mainly labor and education, do not want to offend the future Speaker. The future Speaker has never been a friend to either, yet these groups failed to support my candidacy, and in some instances actually endorsed my opponent. There is no reason to believe that he will change course and support their cause now that he will actually control the agenda of the house. In fact, their efforts will likely have to be redoubled. Wouldn't it have made more sense to help unseat this person? The clincher was when my local paper endorsed my opponent's candidacy simply because he was still there and had power.
Some of the most powerful people on this planet understand that power grows when it is shared. When the masses become empowered, nothing can stop them. Look at Ghandi and Martin Luther King. Both of these men understood that by sharing power, they became more powerful, so powerful that they paid the ultimate price for it. This is the model we should consider when voting. What will this candidate do with hisher power?
Beyond the psychology of voters, more mundane things matter. Organization is a huge piece of the pie. This election was like a knife that cut both ways. People were very motivated to vote this time out, but still lacked the time or interest to become involved in volunteering. Those folks who do understand the need campaigns have for volunteers have had myriad campaigns to choose from. As a result, the more glamorous campaigns, President, Governor, Senate, Congress, through no fault of their own, attracted the limited number of volunteers in the Democratic Party, making campaigns like mine hard put for labor. The same applies for fundraising. By the time we get to State House races, the pool is nearly empty. My campaign was destined for mediocrity from the beginning.
Sometime in early October, it became abundantly clear that I was not going to win this election. My few volunteers had more pressing matters and fundraising had dried up. I was basically a one-woman campaign team trying to cover a district about the size of New England. Between my own job and my family responsibilities, it was time to make a choice, either accept the inevitable or drive myself and my family crazy trying to save a sinking ship. I decided to accept the inevitable.
There is more to life than winning one election. To a large degree, it is about process. In whatever I do, I seek fun and humor. I am not afraid of hard work as long as I get some kind of enjoyment out of it. Well, I was not enjoying myself at all. With no hope for making a race out of it, I went back to my life, my family, my other obligations with a sense of the work that needed to be done in my county party. There is no machinery in place to help candidates win. Now that the election is over, this is where I will turn my attention. Hopefully, through this work, we will find another candidate to run against the future Speaker of the House.
With this acceptance came a new plan. I continued to make appearances and managed some canvassing, although not nearly what I had hoped in the beginning. The weather was a factor as well. It rained for the final two weeks. I was determined to avoid personal debt, so a lack of funding meant limited yard signs and advertising. I did what I could do, and gave up on what I wanted to do. It is well worth mentioning that I found a whole new appreciation for my friends and supporters, those people who supported me financially and emotionally throughout this entire process. I am very grateful for them.
The news was not all bad. As it turned out, I got 36% of the vote, a little better than the last Democratic showing. In fact, very similar to most Democratic races statewide. But, we know what has to be done to win and have identified a number of people interested in working in the county party. For a progressive like me, I'm pretty happy about it. In the most conservative state in the union, a progressive Democratic woman went head to head against an entrenched conservative Republican male and got a third of the vote with a very limited campaign. This shows that some folks are listening, and proves that the progressive agenda has a place at the table.
However, it is good medicine for the soul to undertake a campaign for elected office. Running for office requires self-reflection. As a candidate, you get to meet your neighbors and community leaders. You improve your public speaking skills, and learn to listen to others. You can identify problems and offer solutions outside of government. You get an understanding of how hard it is to be a candidate, and how important volunteers are in the political process. But most importantly, you fulfill your commitment as a citizen of the United States and to our great Democracy. All in all, I recommend running for office, learn from this enriching experience, keep it in perspective, and most importantly - have fun. And if you can't run for office yourself, help out someone who is.
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