Blog: What Are You Waiting For?

I am remembering a time when there were contests for local offices in town; where almost every elected office had a couple or several people interested in filling a vacancy on a board or commission.

Caucus would be crowded, friends would nominate friends for various leadership positions, and then we would all vote to elect caucus nominees.

Although that was a boost towards the job, it didn’t mean that committed candidates could not continue to campaign for the positions. Even if they were not the caucus nominees, they could still win seats in the election.

There were candidates’ nights held and voters got a chance to hear the issues debated and discussed. The town could get to know the candidates and why they were running for office and what they hoped to accomplish if elected. Voters could ask questions of the candidates, and through that process gain insight into what is involved in running a town and its many boards and committees. This in turn would give the idea to some people that maybe they could run for office and participate in the community this way.

For many years now, small cities and towns across the country, not just here in New England, are finding it harder and harder to find people willing to become involved in local government. Incumbents serve longer and longer terms just to keep things going, and when they finally do decide to step down, it is a real task to find even one person willing to take on the duties of the board or commission. A lot of arm-twisting goes on.

I think there are several reasons why this reluctance to serve is occurring. People have always been busy, so it can’t be just that. I know when I was on Regional School Committee, I was working full-time, had two children and their needs to consider, and a home to run. Plus we entertained more, traveled more, and were involved in church activities and had other memberships in organizations. (Ah, to be young again!)

Often, people are satisfied enough with the status quo, that they don’t feel concerned enough to run for office. They seem to require a controversy, or perceived threat to galvanize them into running for a position on a board. So if things are marching along pretty well, they feel no need to become involved.

With the tight budgets and fiscal constraints of today, the candidates who would run to do bold and exciting things, agents of change, might not run because they feel they would not be able to realize their dreams. Pessimism cuts off the imagination that might have infused some energy towards needed change.

Young parents, naturally, want to be involved in the areas of the town that pertain to their children. There are wonderful men and women who devote long hours and great energy toward the schools and other child-related areas of life in Dover; and Dover is the richer for it. 

But working for your children’s needs does not preclude a stint on some board that concerns a different facet of town life: library, cemetery, board of health, etc. There are many opportunities.

A representative democracy depends on the involvement of its citizens. You serve your town for a few years, and then go back to your regular life. It does not require a lifetime appointment. Has it become an anachronism to feel a duty to serve your town, to participate in government, to lead for a while?

When we lost the forum for discussion and debate, we lost the knowledge of how to question each other. When you have to explain to another person what you are doing and why, it allows you to review your position and see it from another perspective, and that exercise leads to change or ratifies your existing policy. Do people resist running for office because they fear the exposure?

When there are several candidates running for an open position it does require time and money for the campaign period (through donations from a support committee –NO, not like the big national dudes, God forbid). That’s true. But it is a brief period, and a small amount of money – not enough to discourage participation.

Dover is fortunate that it has, and has always had, very capable people willing to serve in its government. But it would be even better served if there were more people willing to step up to the plate and lend their talents to the town for a period of time.

If you are already on a board or commission, thank you for your service. If you are NOT already serving, what are you waiting for?