I want YOU to Run for Office
You can make a difference, right here, right now!
Many people talk to me about how worried they are about the state of our country. We see chaos in the big cities. We see an open southern border. We see rising crime, addiction and homelessness. Prices are high and the economy is slowing. A hot foreign war seems to be more and more likely. Society seems to be turned upside-down.
Most world events are completely out of our control, and that can create feelings of anxiety and hopelessness. The best antidote for feelings of powerlessness is to take action to improve our own local community. One empowering choice is to run for local office. Stop worrying about faraway places and start making a difference in your home town.
May is the time to decide.
If you’ve been thinking of running for office now is the time to decide! Washington’s filing week in 2023 begins Monday, May 15th and ends Friday May 19th. If you miss filing week, you’ve missed running for office this year!
If you want to run for office, the county auditor’s office is the place to start your research. This year, the focus is on local races, so it’s a great year to get involved in helping your community.
I live in Ferry County, so the links in this article will be specific to Ferry. If you live in a different county, just visit your county auditor’s website and search for similar information.
What offices are on the ballot 2023?
Ferry County open positions for 2023 can be found at the auditor’s website. This year, Ferry County has a county commissioner race and the City of Republic will elect a new mayor. In addition, there are open positions on many small boards. You may not realize these citizen-led volunteer boards are how much important county business is conducted.
We have six school boards, two water districts, and three fire districts. We also have open seats on the hospital board and Republic City Council. All in all, we need forty-two citizen leaders to answer the call and run for office! You can make a difference, right here, right now!
While you are at the auditor’s website, look for the candidate election guide. This will provide all the current legal requirements that you need to know about being a candidate.
Partisan or non-partisan?
This year in Ferry County, all of the open positions are non-partisan except for the county commissioner’s seat. These non-partisan board races are often elected by only a few hundred voters in a small specific location, and in our smaller communities the candidates are often already known by name and reputation.
Don’t let your doubts stop you from running for a board position. If you have an interest in the purpose of a board, you’re probably qualified enough to serve on that board. Serving on a board generally involves the meeting time plus possible additional time spent on research or problem solving in between meetings. Different boards do have different time demands, so you might interview a sitting board member to learn more. Sitting on a board is usually educational, interesting, and rewarding work.
Candidates often build a network of supporters to help them. The campaign team can help put out signs, organize events, and call friends and neighbors to spread the word about why they support the candidate. It’s up to the individual candidate to raise any necessary funds and work to persuade the voters that he or she is the best person for the position.
The role of the voters
The most important task for voters is to make an effort to meet and get to know the candidates in advance. Don’t wait for your ballot to arrive for the August primary. At the county auditor’s office, the curious voter can find out by the end of May who’s running for the council or board positions that they will be voting for. Then, give the candidates a call. Find out why they’re running for that board and what they hope to accomplish.
Know your core values, and make an effort to learn which of the candidates shares and will fight for those values. Get involved and stay involved. The more you participate in politics, the more you will influence the future.
Get active early, in order to have more influence on our important August primary elections. We may not have much say in national events, but in our county, city, and local boards we can control our destiny by electing people that we know, like, and trust.
Nancy Churchill is a writer and marketing consultant in rural eastern Washington State, and the state committeewoman for the Ferry County Republican Party. She may be reached at DangerousRhetoric@pm.me. The opinions expressed in Dangerous Rhetoric are her own. Dangerous Rhetoric is also available on Rumble.