|
Consultant's Corner
So, you want to run for office?
By Stacy D. Cole
April 26, 2004
Consultant's Corner is going to be a weekly series that spotlights the different aspects of what should be involved in your campaign. There are many things to take into consideration, from the initial decision to run for office through the post-election tasks of shutting down campaign operations.
What follows in the coming weeks and months are just GENERAL guidelines for conducting your campaign. Some of the information that will be provided does apply to every campaign. Each campaign is different; thus, the campaign advice may or may not apply to your campaign.
So, you want to run for office?
You have decided that you want to run for office, and probably know which office you want to run for election, but there are many more things to consider:
Family-the campaign will consume much of your time, and leave you with less time to spend with your spouse and children. There should be an understanding between you and your spouse about the amount of time that you will need to devote to your campaign for it to be successful. Your spouse should be supportive of your campaign, as well as your kids. It will make for good campaign fodder if your kids are unhappy that you are spending enough time with them. You might remember Arianna Huffington's children moved in with their father during the 2003 CA Governor's race because they had asked her not to run, and she didn't listen. Take at least one night per week during the campaign for family time, and pay attention to your children's grades and behavior. No matter what you do, you always take care of home before anything else.
Job/Career-If you are business owner, you will not be available each day to run your business. You will need to appoint someone you trust to handle the day-to-day operations. It will also benefit you to make sure your finances, credit, and taxes are in order, because they can become problematic down the campaign trail. If you are an employee of a larger company, you may want to look into taking a leave of absence to spend the time needed for your campaign. If finances dictate that you will need to make money during the campaign, you may be able to draw a small salary. But, you should check into that with your State Department of Elections or with the FEC.
Health-Please be certain to get a complete physical prior to beginning your campaign. There will be no time to get it done during the campaign. When you receive the results that you are healthy, that will be one less, but very important, thing you will not need to worry about. When going from one stop to another on the campaign trail, healthy eating is not always available, especially as the campaign intensifies. Take care of yourself on the road to elected office.
With these things to consider, including taking stock of your strengths and weaknesses, the decision to run for office is not one that should be taken lightly. The decision should be made a few years before you actually run, simply to give yourself the time to correct mistakes, if any, from the past. Also, you will have plenty of time to become knowledgeable about the different issues that will come up during your race.
|
