Now is Not the Time

Marin Voice: Now is not the time to give up on politics

By Dotty LeMieux (Reprinted from Marin IJ - Article by moi)

Posted: 08/07/

 

4 Comments

 

POLITICS UNDER THE ORANGE DOME

 

Admittedly this is a crazy time in American politics. Never before have we seen so many presidential appointments come and go so rapidly.

You can almost hear President Donald Trump saying to each one, “Welcome to the White House; don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” as he ushers them in one door and out the other.
Times are rough all over, as people prepare for the 2018 elections, praying there will be a 2018 at all, with a wary eye on North Korea, Iran and Russia.

Not to mention the man behind the White House curtains.

The popularity of politicians is at an all-time low. Whether you don’t trust this government, the previous government or government in general, a lack of trust in elected officials is rampant.

So why would anyone want to run for local office?

LOCAL POLITICS STILL A GOOD BET

Good question. The answer is that the only way to counter the negativity in national politics is to start electing good, ethical people to local offices.

Some of them will go on to higher office and some won’t. Either way, they have the opportunity to make a difference in their towns and cities, their counties and special district areas, like water board, sewer board and of course school boards.

In Marin, most of the city councils have been holding their elections in odd-numbered years. While the state and national elections have all been in even-numbered years, leading to a lopsided voting pattern, with many voters ignoring local elections altogether.

Starting in 2018, local Marin County, (and all of local Califonria), offices will now be elected in even-numbered years, to encourage higher voter turnout. But this year offers a unique final chance to run in an off-year election in these communities: Fairfax, Novato, San Rafael, San Anselmo and Larkspur all have regular elections this year, while Tiburon and Sausalito have special elections to fill a vacancy. 

Some of the terms will be for three years and others for five (except for Tiburon, which is only for one year), until all communities have moved their elections in even numbered years.

If you live in one of these towns, you might consider a run. Maybe you’ve served on a board or commission and have been thinking about running before.

Maybe you’ve been a community volunteer and want to do more. Maybe you just see a need that you are uniquely qualified to fill.

For those jurisdictions where all the incumbents are running to keep their seats, filing closes on Aug. 11. 

But if any incumbent decides not to run, filing will remain open until Aug. 16 for any non-incumbent to run.

The time to make that decision is now. And if not this year, maybe next year, when other seats will be up.

RUN TO WIN!

Even if you haven’t decided what you are running for or when, or even if you want to run, but are curious to learn more about the process, you might want to attend an election training to learn more.
The Marin Women’s Political Action Committee (MWPAC), a nonpartisan group dedicated to helping pro-choice women and men run for office, is holding a campaign training session on Aug. 23, at the McInnis Park Club restaurant in San Rafael. 

Beginning at 5:30 p.m., the program will feature campaign professionals, as well as elected officers and editorial page editors, to discuss such things as the nuts and bolts of campaigning, raising funds, managing your time as a candidate and as an elected official and how to get those important newspaper endorsements.

The cost is $30 and includes a buffet dinner and handouts that offer tips for would-be candidates.
MWPAC is a membership organization and welcomes all pro-choice women and men to join.

In September, there will be an endorsement meeting to choose who the organization will support in the coming election.

To vote in that endorsement process, held on Sept. 13, you must be a dues-paying member by Aug. 13, or 30 days before the endorsement night.

More information about the organization and upcoming events can be found at www.mwpac.orgwww.mwpac.org

Dotty LeMieux is a Marin political consultant who leads GreenDog Campaigns in San Rafael. 

And  should all this politicking make you hungry, eat a healthy (or at least tasty) snack while on the campaign trail:

 

It's almosts 2018; Where are the Female Candidates?

    Where are the Women?   

A new report from the Sacramento Bee confirms what we have known for a while; the number of female elected officials in California falls far below the goal of fifty/fifty by 2020, the goal of the many women's political groups, both nationally and internationally. It's 31% (or 149) of the City Council seats in 482 California Cities, 69 more than two years ago, but still not parity. In the Legislature, the numbers have actually been going down: 26 as opposed to the 31 in the 2015-2016 session. or 22%. 25% of Supervisors in the 58 Counties are women, and about 42% (or 137) of Mayors are women. Of those only Libby Schaaf of Oakland is the Mayor of one of the ten major cities. 

Mayor Libby Schaaf, Oakland

We do have 2 U.S. Senators, Dianne Feinstein and newly elected Kamala Harris, but only one Statewide officeholder, Controller Betty T. Yee. Now Fiona Ma is vying to become State Treasurer and former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin is running for Governor. And Green Party member, and former Mayor of Richmond Gayle McLaughlin is running for Lt. Governor.

It's a start. Now it's your turn. Think about what you might run for, on the local level, first. City Council, School Board, Water Board, Hospital Board and on and on. The positions are there. Don't let them go begging.

        Run to Win!

Need help figuring it all out? If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, or even if not and you can get here, the Marin Women's Political Action Committee is having a mini-seminar in Running for Office, the basic nuts and bolts, how to get endorsements and raise money for your campaign. August 23, in San Rafael. It's only $30, including a buffet dinner and helpful handouts from experts in the local campaign world, yours truly and others in GreenDog Campaigns, my consulting firm among them. Go to www.mwpac.org and sign up today.

Happy New Year Now Start Campaigning!

Yes, it's almost New Year's, and the next campaign cycle is upon us, for those of you with 2015 campaigns. Lots of City Councils, school boards and special districts are up this year. Not to mention the various initiatives and local measures.

So if you're up this year, or just thinking about it, call for a free consultation with GreenDog Campaigns today. We craft smart, savvy campaigns. Our motto: You run. We run with you, to win!

Put a GreenDog in your Christmas stocking.

www.greenogcampaigns.com

We have a Winner!

All the votes are (mostly) counted, although they won't become official until Dec. 2. GreenDog Campaigns did a good job on this off year. It was low key, but there was a tight and hard fought race in Los Gatos for Town Council. We are pleased to say our client Rob Rennie, pulled out a narrow victory. He was a first time candidate, with a great record, serving on the Parks Commission and as a past director of the Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club. Also a stalwart in Rotary and other service and community orgainiztions.

We congratulate Rob Rennie on his win for Los Gatos Town Council!

Closer to home, we did some minor advising and calls for an upset candidate in the Marin Municipal Water District, Larry Bragman, currently serving on the Fairfax Town Council. Go Larry!

And also in Fairfax, we helped Measure J, a continuation of Measure F, public safety tax we did several years ago. With two calls by the very competent Police Chief, Measure J was a runaway winner.

Another big winner was Team Richmond, the people's choice in Richmond, across the Bay from us in Contra Costa County. Chevron spent huge with big consultant mailings, billboards and TV ads, but the people were not fooled by all the glitz and negative campaigning and the good guys won.  GreenDog presented a training to several of their candidates and volunteers at the beginning of the campaign. Richmond Rocks!