Hi friends. It’s been a hot minute.
So, I was asked an interesting question yesterday and would love to hear your thoughts, too.
Why don’t more people run for office?
Many people are frustrated with what’s happening in their communities. From schools to local government… and I’m not sure a whole lot of people are happy with what’s happening at the federal level.
So why aren’t more people running for office?
Or… why aren’t more people involved in any way, period?
It’s not for a lack of passion. I run into people all the time who have questions about what’s happening in their very own neighborhoods. And they usually have strong opinions.
But still… I don’t see them showing up.
A TALE OF TWO MEETINGS
Buckeye Union High School District held a “State of the District” informational tour at sites throughout its district this spring. Here, at Estrella Foothills High School, I counted less than a dozen non-staff attendees.
This meeting covered the rising participation fees, overcrowding of schools, staff cuts, and issues every parent should want to know.
In the same community a few weeks later, the new Estrella developer held an informational meet and greet. It was packed. But most of the people in attendance lived in a retirement community not served by this new developer.
The only difference I could tell, was the gap in age of attendees between the school board meeting and the developer meeting.
COULD IT BE CONFIDENCE?
In high school, boys and girls report almost equal interest in politics, and they are equally likely to participate in student council. The gender gap opens up in college, when more men begin to get involved in politics on campus and to consider running one day. Both college-aged men and women report being encouraged to run for student government at nearly equal rates, but family and friends were far more likely to encourage men to consider a run for political office later in life.
This study has me intrigued. I thought the lack of time and interest is what held people back from getting involved. But it turns out it might just be a lack of confidence.
Self-doubt shadows women’s aspirations much more often than men’s, according to Lawless and Fox. College-age men who didn’t think they’d ever be qualified to run for office were still 50 percent more likely than women with the same doubts to consider running anyway.
A NEW AGE OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS
In the last year, I served on a committee for a local neighborhood community. It was really my first time outside of my bubble since the pandemic. And woah! What an eye-opening experience.
Discovered the MAIN reason I was recruited for the committee was because of my gender and not my 35 years of real-world experience
The pressure to recruit “people of color and women” seemed to supercede any professional qualifications
The fear of discrimination lawsuits is more prominent than ever
Several times, I heard, “It’s so nice to have a woman on the committee.”
“We need more women.”
After months of this, I finally voiced my concern. It was so degrading - to me - to hear “people of color” and “women” over and over.
Let me be clear. The discriminatory pressure didn’t come from the organization. It came from committee leaders who, I felt, buy into the political narrative you find in social media.
When it was all said and done, another woman pulled me aside and genuinely thanked me for speaking up. She, too, was done feeling “less than”. It was the first time I’d heard that saying. But I connected to it.
WHAT MOTIVATES ME?
I was raised to be a leader. I enjoy being involved. I’m willing to have courageous conversations.
But… most people aren’t. Or don’t have the time.
CONVENIENCE
Getting people to show up is half the battle.
In 2013, when I served on the Goodyear City Council, I traveled with members of the council to Washington D.C. for the National League of Cities Congressional Conference.
What a blast from the past!! While I was at the conference, I attended every Leadership Institute breakout session I could get to and took notes. Here is a cover of my report I gave to then City Manager Brian Dahlke.
One of the seminars was titled, “Innovative Strategies for Involving and Engaging Citizens.” The instructors were Steve Brigham and Theo Brown from America Speaks.
Mission: AmericaSpeaks' mission is to reinvigorate American democracy by engaging citizens in the public decisions that most impact their lives.
For sake of space… here’s my PDF about the presentation.
Any successful organization should be motivated to get away from a “Speaker-Focused” traditional meeting and transition to “Deliberative Forums.”
What does that mean?
When participants are asked to be part of the conversation, you’ll more likely get a diverse opinion - including from people who normally are not active in their communities.
I asked the City of Goodyear to start taking meetings out to the people. Hold them in different locations. Offer free babysitting services for parents to encourage them to attend.
GET CREATIVE!
But it never happened.
And now that I’m all worked up... Where are the meeting notes from all of the city council members who’ve attended these national meetings for years on our dime?
Oh. Nevermind.
DO WHAT YOU CAN
Now that my little is in college, I know one thing for sure.
I’ll never regret the time I volunteered in the classroom, for the team, and in the community. It was worth every bit of time and occasional stress.
Be part of the solution. Help create the tomorrow you want for your children.