Never too Early to Start Your Run for 2024

Reprint alert, updated for 2024. Read on:

 That's right. It's never too early to start thinking about 2024. City Council race coming up? School Board? Certainly Assembly, County Supervisor, and Congress. 

You may want to launch your campaign for water board, sewer board or Community Services District. Find out now what seats are coming up and when you find the one that seems right for you, get the answers to these questions before you make a final decision:

1. Is the incumbent likely to run? You may not know yet, because they may not have decided, but at least know who the incumbent is, what their track record is and what has been written about them and their votes on the board. This information can help you decide if it's worth challenging the incumbent. If they are not doing a good job, or you have some better ideas and  will to take on the challenge, don't let the fact that someone else is sitting there now stop you.

2. When is the election? In March, when the California primaries take place or in November, along with the General election? Or both. Is there a primary to whittle down the field to the top two? This is important because it will make a difference in your fundraising and endorsement seeking schedule. If it's in March, filing is in the fall. You need to be cognizant of the holiday season and plan accordingly.

3. How much does this race normally cost? If you're running against the incumbent, it will probably cost you more, to get yourself known and up to speed, and get your message out to the voters on why they should fire the incumbent and hire you, instead. You can get the information on past election costs either at Cal-Access the State site with campaign disclosures or at the City or County where the election takes place. Sometimes you have to go physically into the office of the Board to get hard copies of the disclosure statements.

Now that you're armed with some basic information about the race, make sure you are up to speed on the decisions made by this board, the scope of the duties and how you can contribute to the quality of the work done.

Whatever you run for, the most important question is one to ask yourself: Do I have the "Fire in the belly" for this job?

If the answer is Yes, go for it. Just do your homework, make sure you can raise the funds and get the support needed and you are off and running.