One of the things that got me thinking about one day running for public office was that, sometimes when I would speak passionately about some societal issue, someone I respect would say “hey, have you ever thought of running?” That kind of comment meant a lot to me, encouraging me to make a bigger impact for my community, and I started saying it to others that I admired too. But all too often, the answer is a flat out “no way”. Why are so many intelligent, passionate, committed people completely uninterested in political service? And why do so many others, who are interested in running, never make it to the end of a campaign? And why are so many people outright fleeing political service these days?
At the OSUM conference a few weeks ago, we heard a summary of a new report exploring these issues. The report was called Mapping Diverse Experiences in Running for Municipal Office. The slideshow I linked here is worth reading on its own, but I’ll try to summarize it here with some of my own commentary.
The Journey Map
The report included some journey maps of people who were deciding whether or not to run for office, and I found these very easy to identify with: these people’s experiences are full of common inspirations and frustrations, even if each one is unique on its own.
This journey map started with a high ideal: “Decided to change the world.” That’s a common motivation for people running for office, particularly people for whom the status quo isn’t particularly working well. In this case, the journey is all downhill from there: the passion and optimism of deciding to change the world is no match for confusion and a lack of information or support. Something as simple as a bad website can derail a candidate before they even get started. And those last three lines are heartbreaking: “Felt lost, not sure what to do. Decided not to run. Felt bad for not running.” Often the reason for running in the first place was a sense of responsibility to one’s community, and deciding not to run can feel almost like a failure or even betrayal of that responsibility.
This journey ended with the person not only running, but winning. But their experience had some significant ups and downs that were specific to their own identity and context: running as a diverse candidate carries extra risks. In this case, a non-binary person with a disability was able to challenge some prejudices in their community just by running for office, but suffered shocking attacks based solely on who they are. Note that one of the gateways to running for office was joining a municipal committee, and that contact with a sitting councillor and becoming friends with another candidate were key to recovering from discouragement caused by bad policies and bad politics.
Motivations and Barriers
The research found that people wanted to run for some pretty common reasons:
- To address specific issues or problems. I strongly identify with this reason: I have specific political goals that I want to accomplish, linked to major issues that we’re facing. While things like housing and homelessness have become crises in the past few years, I’ve been watching those crises unfold for much longer, and wanted to get elected to help address those problems.
- To increase representation of people like them in politics. I’m a stereotypical political candidate: straight white men make up a disproportionate amount of elected officials, often making up the entire council. For many people, that means that their representatives have little idea of what it’s like for them to navigate the world. It also means that young people with diverse identities have no political role models who look like them. Representation matters, and I hope we will see more diverse councils in Brighton as our community increasingly diversifies.
- Place-based motivations: candidates want to serve their communities. I often associate this motivation with more conservative politicians, particularly at the municipal level, who view their role as one of stewardship of the community trust and purse rather than as changemakers. This is still an excellent motivation, but one I identify with a little less. I suppose I believe that stewarding our community is inherently linked to addressing specific issues, like preparing for and adapting to climate change, so that we can have a sustainable future; but I know some other politicians who feel no obligation to address any issue in particular, seeking just to serve in a general capacity, and that’s just fine.
The barriers and enablers to running are also very common and relatable:
- Timing was a key factor in whether or not people would run. If there’s a popular group of incumbents, the odds of getting elected are low; if a longstanding councillor or two retires, it’s a very different scenario. Likewise, the timing in a person’s life matters a lot: there are a few people in Brighton I have encouraged to run, but they have kids under 5 at home, which makes it much more difficult to commit to the time and attention council can require of us. Timing in relation to careers is also critical: there’s a reason so many candidates for municipal politics are retired, as a council salary can’t usually replace a career, but a council workload can be a lot to carry while working full-time. Which leads to…
- Money. If a council position doesn’t have a salary that can compete with full-time work, it’s difficult for anyone to commit to municipal office at the expense of making their own bills. While it’s understandable that we don’t want people seeking a council position just for the money, if we want diverse people to run we need to ensure that we pay well enough that a lack of money isn’t a barrier for potential candidates.
- Accessibility challenges. People with disabilities can struggle in political campaigning, which is often very physical work. The most tried-and-true method of campaigning is simply going door to door and having conversations with voters on their doorsteps; someone who has mobility or energy disabilities might not be able to canvass their neighbourhood at all, and I’ve been at all-candidate events at buildings that had no accessible entrances.
- Having mentors, volunteers, and other supporters can make or break a candidate (and a councillor!). Running a major campaign can take dozens or even hundreds of people, and running without that kind of support is a short path to burnout. I did it five times, never having more than a handful of supporters who could offer practical help (you know who you are, and I’m still grateful!). After the fourth time, I swore off politics entirely and more or less stayed home for a few years; in 2022 I felt healthy enough to try again, but was careful to have a very scaled-back campaign that wouldn’t wear me out.
- Mental health. As I said, I was severely burned out from 2020-2022, and I still flinch away from partisan politics at the federal and provincial levels; they’re such a hostile environment. Even at the municipal level, things are increasingly getting hostile: many local politicians are bowing out early, or deciding not to run again, because they regularly experience harassment and even threats. For candidates with families this is especially concerning. As we saw in the journey map above, some candidates experience harassment and threats based solely on who they are, which is absolutely unacceptable but sadly common. In the case above, it was organized by a rival who was using it as a way to pressure the candidate to drop out; all too often, that works.
How to Fix It
The report identified some ways that we could make it easier for people to run for office, but I bet you can see some already:
First, let’s make sure that information about how to engage with local politics (and not just for potential candidates!) is easy to find and act on. The report recommends making training available, a kind of campaign school to help new voices navigate the complex world of politics. I think this is something that political veterans can contribute to in a big way: I believe that part of our role as councillors is helping people understand our system, which is why I keep blogging here 🙂
Second, making those social connections for candidates. If the presence of a mentor, friend, volunteer, or donor can make or break a candidate, what if we facilitated those connections? The report indicates a matchmaker service. Personally, I’m already looking for people to mentor, and hope that by 2024 I will have encouraged at least two people to run for council.
Third, increasing the safety and mental well-being of candidates (and councillors). I remember in 2022 during the campaign, I noted that it was common practice to publish the addresses of all candidates; I was very grateful to our Clerk that she did not follow this example. Ostensibly it was done to help everyone know that candidates actually live in the community, as is required, but the often hostile reality of politics today had me concerned about my address being published. That small step by the Clerk made a big difference for me, but there are many other steps that could also help. Another one that I’m excited about is the introduction of a healthcare spending account for councillors; as I said in our discussions of this addition to our remuneration package, I hope we all use it for mental health purposes (I know that I will).
Fourth, they recommend trying to inspire cultural change, with community education campaigns to combat discrimination and humanizing elected officials. The internet can have a dehumanizing effect, allowing us to forget that elected officials are complex and relatable human beings rather than just representations of their particular opinions or parties (or the things others project onto them); having more information about who candidates are, as people, can help turn that around and reduce the amount of harassment we experience.
And finally, they recommend systems changes, such as having a campaign code of conduct to regulate the campaign process and cut down on the abuse that often happens there; and improve the conditions of the job, such as improving pay, hours, safety, and flexibility. Sometimes even small changes in these things can make a big difference that allows a passionate and committed resident become a community leader.