jacoblund
A healthy democracy relies on active civic participation. And, one of the most important parts of active civic participation is competitive, contested elections.
Unfortunately, according to Ballotpedia, elections for the Massachusetts Legislature rank dead last among states in terms of competitiveness. That needs to change.
The first step in breaking this cycle is running for office. If you’re worried you don’t have enough experience, then get trained with Emerge, Mass Alliance, the Democratic Campaign Institute, or the National Democratic Training Committee. Even if you’ve never considered running for office, take one of these trainings and be open to what you can learn because you may be just what Massachusetts needs.
If you’re worried you’re too young, then remember that in western Massachusetts, we have nearly 40 under-35 elected officials. In addition, Massachusetts has its youngest state legislature delegation in history.
If you are worried about incumbency, then remember that most of these candidates haven’t seen a competitor in years (sometimes over a decade), so they can be beaten.
Once you decide you’re ready to run for office, then you have three next steps. One, knock on doors and knock on more doors than your opponent. Even if they raise more money than you, if you knock on more doors, you can win. Show the voters you want to represent them.
Two, raise money. Don’t just go to big donors but reach out for support from everyone.
Three, sleep. You’re going to need it.
We need to stop telling ourselves that we are content with the job being done by our elected officials and we need to instead start asking ourselves, “How can we be better?” If you have ideas or a desire to improve our commonwealth, then we need you in office.
I look forward to seeing your name on the ballot.
Jonathan Goldman
Florence
