Some local offices attract people with an expertise in the field, water board, sewer board, fire board, for instances. And conversely, voters are attracted to those candidates who sound like they have the needed expertise to do the job.
Perception is everything when it comes to the down ticket race for a position that involves managing a recourse or public safety. Especially for the low-information voter. I've seen many races won and lost because the person with "water engineer," "environmental scientist," or "former firefighter" as their ballot designation. even though they had never held public office, had no managerial experience nor a history of interacting with the District they are running for.
This is true even against a better funded candidate with more voter contacts and a professionally run campaign who has studied the issues facing the District for years. Even former elected officials have a hard time moving from Town Council or School Board to Water District or Sanitary District.
So if you seek a technical sounding position, think of the voter who will do no more than read the ballot designation, and see if you can come up with one that sounds impressive and conveys actual expertise in the field.
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