The local election season is fast approaching and soon the politicking will start. As all those politicians and “hopeful” politicians start to campaign please keep these things in mind.
Just because someone is an incumbent doesn’t mean they’re doing a good job. Being an incumbent might mean people are comfortable with that person and don’t care. Don’t confuse time in a position with their ability to do the job effectively.
Educate yourself on what they’ve accomplished so far and what they want to accomplish moving forward. You may be surprised at what you find. Has what they’ve accomplished so far made a positive change in your life or the community? If it did, did it come at to high a financial cost?
All candidates will talk and tell you how great they are, IGNORE WHAT THEY SAY – I can’t stress that enough. Look at their history instead. What have they accomplished, personally and professionally? Have they ever been a leader of a larger number of people, if so, were they an effective leader?
Equally as important, have they been an effective follower? Few people understand that to be a good leader, you first need to be a great follower. As Aristotle said, “He who cannot be a good follower, cannot be a good leader.” Have they ever had to make tough decisions and what were those outcomes?
Don’t be concerned with the letter after their name on the ballot, concern yourself with their ability. If the election doesn’t produce a candidate, you can FULLY support, don’t simply vote for the lesser of two evils – it’s still an evil you’re voting for. Make the candidates and political parties EARN your vote.
If anyone starts off a pitch for a candidate with “I know him/her, and they are a real nice person…….” ignore that. How “nice” a candidate is shouldn’t factor in to whether you support them. We have a lot of nice people in Frederick holding office who have no business writing policy or having any kind of control over the quality of your life.
You shouldn’t be electing anyone based on their likability. Again, this SHOULD be about their ability to do the job. This isn’t a school’s student government election; it shouldn’t be based on popularity.
EDUCATE yourself on the candidates, don’t take anyone’s word for it. It’s not easy being an informed voter, it takes work and time. Some of the candidates are hoping you’ll just blindly take their word for everything, because they have nothing to run on. It’s worth the time to find out for yourself about the people running, if you ran a business, would you hire someone based SOLEY on what they say they can do?
Attend candidate meet and greets or even consider holding one yourself. You can also attend candidate speaking engagements at our local political clubs.
Bottom line, these people will work for you or currently do, not the other way around. It’s your responsibility to vote in the best person for the job based on ability, nothing else.
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