6 Reasons Why You Should File For Local Political Office

Everyone's staring at the top of the ticket but there's thousands of opportunities to get elected at the local level. Do you want to protest or do you want to be in the room and make things happen? If it's the latter, you've got to run!

1. Many elections go completely uncontested!

Politifact / Via politifact.com

Ever heard of the incumbency advantage that keeps the same politicians in office year after year? Well, it turns out part of the incumbency advantage is that incumbents are rarely challenged for office. Democracy is about choice, but in many elections, only one candidate runs for office. When elections go uncontested, voters are unable to weigh the options and decide which candidate’s platform best suits their needs, because there aren’t any options to begin with.

2. Local politics make a big difference

The Odyssey Online / Via theodysseyonline.com

If there’s one thing we learned from Councilwoman Leslie Knope on NBC’s Parks and Rec, it’s that local government can affect change.

In fact, local politics may even be more important than national politics. Not only does the federal government often model national policies after local policies and state policies (recall the Massachusetts health care plan that was the model for Obama Care), but local change leads to momentum for political movements. It's also often easier to create change at a local level, where communities are smaller and more personal.

Local politics are also often less partisan and less gridlocked than national politics. By running for office in your local community, you can build a movement from the ground up, meet the people who support you, and see the results of that change yourself.

3. Special districts need your expertise

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver / Via youtube.com

John Oliver may not be a fan, but special districts are another key way to influence political change. If you’ve never heard of a special district before, don’t worry - you’re not alone. Special districts are “electoral districts created to do only one thing.”

That means that special districts are in need of experts who can offer their professional insights to that district, which range from school districts, to water districts, to fire protection districts, among others (cemetery districts, anyone?). A special district is the perfect opportunity to become involved in politics while focusing on a particular issues that you are passionate about.

4. Democracy needs more diversity

Randy Glasbergen / Via recruitingdaily.com

A democracy is a government of the people, but the question is, which people? It turns out that white, male, well-educated people are drastically overrepresented in government. Women, blacks, hispanics, and Americans without post-graduate degrees remain underrepresented. This is true at all levels of government, from the U.S. Senate (which is only 20% women) to state legislatures, where only 24% of representatives are women.

If you fall into an underrepresented group in government (or even if you don’t!), this election season is the perfect time to declare your candidacy and offer your community a more diverse choice of candidates.

5. If you don’t run, an election may not take place

Seagoville Gazette / Via seagovillegazette.com

Elections are the foundation of democracy, but political candidacy is so low that cities often cancel their elections outright to save money, if uncontested. While we all appreciate the value of saving money, a democracy without freedom of choice and elections is, well, barely a democracy. By making a choice to file for office, you can be the difference and give the voters in your community a voice.

6. Because you can win!

Rob Swanson for Boston Globe / Via bostonglobe.com

There’s a multitude of tools that people can find online that are specifically tailored to helping first time candidates, and a free database that allows users to enter their address, see what they can run for, and how to get on the ballot. A three month campaign will cost around $100, and if you’re a tech savvy communicator, you can bypass the expensive route of television/radio ads, and leverage Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and other free platforms to get your message out there.

The Windup

Here's what's really important: Elections run in cycles. Sit on the sidelines today, and you've got to wait a few years before that position opens up again.

There's a filing deadline in one week in California (August 12th) and there are over a thousand seats up in the November election. If there is a wave of renewed grassroots involvement, we hope that they'll consider being more than voters and actually running themselves. (Bernie Sanders, Jill Stein, and Gary Johnson supporters: Can you hear this?)

"If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old."--Peter Drucker

*Although I am posting this, Sarah Allen of USC did the hard work and all the good writing should be attributed to her