“The 2018 large turnout allowed House Democrats to win about 10 million more votes than House Republicans. That’s the largest raw vote margin in a House midterm election ever.” Harry Enten, CNN https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/06/politics/latest-house-vote-blue-wave/index.html
November 2018 will forever be known as the Blue Wave. And that is the year I decided to run for a Council position in my town. Given that our form of government is a “weak-mayor system,” there are six members elected to Council, each holding a three-year term. A Mayor is also elected, and holds a four-year term, but only votes in the event of a tie. More about this form of government can be found here: https://www.nlc.org/mayo ral-powers)
As the terms are staggered, there are two Council seats up for election every year. I was lucky enough to run with another woman – both of us rookies. If we had only known how historic that election would be, we might have taken it easy and campaigned a little less. But as with any election, you just never really know until you’ve either won or lost. And as this was the only election I have ever run in, I was not familiar with the typical turnout in my town. So at first, we really could not appreciate the astounding results, which meant that my running mate and I had both won in a record setting landslide, as did many others in the country that year.
During the campaign, we met so many amazing people. My running mate has lived in our town for many years, and with a total population of just under 5,000, she was able to introduce me to many residents. To this day, I miss that one-on-one contact we had during the campaign. After winning the election, I remember feeling like I wouldn’t know what to do as an elected official without hearing from residents on a regular basis. It does not seem right that we only knock on doors once a year. I have been tempted more than once to knock on a random door or two and just ask people what they need and want. Public meetings just aren’t enough either. People are busy, and it just is not convenient to attend. And as I soon learned, social media could not be used to speak to the public in the way I had always spoken before. Whatever is said on social media, as well as in meetings, and in emails are subject to the Open Public Records Act. Elected officials are asked not to respond in writing as often as possible. So I was elected to represent the people, but I can’t communicate with them. Really?
Tales of a Councilwoman 