Question of the Day - Political Edition

First, I want to thank Rachel for letting me handle the duties of the QotD today. This feature she inaugurated has been one of the most productive, most interesting, most community building of efforts we've seen here at MLW, and she deserves our heaping praise for it.

This last weekend was dominated by discussion of the Yearly Kos convention in Vegas. There have been many good diaries about it, focusing on the political angle. Some have been critical, others supportive. But all of them, in their own way, have centered on the theme of citizen involvement in the political process.

And that brings me to the question I want to ask today.

But what about the ultimate sort of political involvement?

Today's question is:

Have you ever thought about running for public, governmental office yourself? If so, what office would you run for? Why?

Or, have you already tried to get elected to public office? What office did you run for, and why? How did it turn out, and what explains the outcome? Would you do it again?

I'm sure some of you might be repulsed by the very notion. And that too is a part of this question - if you don't ever want to run for office, why not? What about it turns you off?

I'll go first.

***

I've long wanted to hold political office. I remember when I was an awkward, gangly 12-year old running for student body vice president in my junior high school. I wanted to win an election so badly. Not for my ego, but to be in an elected position. It's just something I've always wanted.

I didn't win that 7th grade race. In fact I got my ass kicked. But I've won others, whether it was a race for offices in my student co-op organization at Berkeley, or for various elected positions in my academic department, or for shop steward in my union local.

I see those as service positions, things I do to help out in my professional career. And while I am still on the track of becoming a historian and a teacher, I do have the goal of holding elective office someday.

What will I run for? I've always envisioned a race for city council, or the school board. I like the idea of getting involved in nitty-gritty community issues, but also being able to do something about them.

My focus as a historian is 20th century US history, and my research is on cities in that time period. I've always been fascinated by cities, and by urban government. Since I moved to Seattle in 2001 I've followed local issues closely and often thought "I can do better than these bozos!" The politics of urban development, things like housing and transportation, intrigue me. And I believe quite strongly that cities should be used as sites to build and model liberal policies, liberal societies. I would love to help accomplish that, whether in Seattle, or in some California town.

School board is another position I've had an interest in. I come from a family of educators, and I've long been familiar with the important decisions that rest in their laps. It's something I feel I could do.

One of the first political campaigns I was ever involved with was that of a friend's father who ran for school board in my hometown in 1996. It was an uphill climb for him - he was a Chinese American, a prominent lawyer with ties to the Clinton Administration in an Orange County town. All of those meant he didn't have community networks he could count on, as the town was either white or Latino - or that he was resented for being a lawyer or a liberal. Further, most people who showed up to vote in school board elections lived up in the hills, and didn't trust a liberal nonwhite flatlander to run their schools the way they wanted to. He lost the election to a conservative white woman from the hills who played on voters' fears of Latino and Asian immigration. The result was sad, but expected, and yet the campaign was invigorating. I loved it.

I've also considered the state legislature and Congress...if I got elected to the legislature in Sacramento maybe I could help steer California toward independence! Wouldn't that be something?!

Would I ever win a political race? Maybe, maybe not. But someday I am sure that I'll try. Why the hell not? What do I have to lose except my soul, my sanity, and my financial security?!

So, what about you? Come on now, you're all political junkies. What political office would you seek? What offices have you run for, what campaigns have you led? Do you think you'll ever try it someday? We all want to change the world - why not do it from a position of power?!

It's not just about bringing power to the people...but bringing people to the power.