My Local Election Reflections! – (New April 4, 2024)
ELECTIONS – Someone has to Win…Someone has to Lose
I’ve been involved in many elections! 16 city government elections to be exact. So, I’ve had my share of victories and defeats. Winning is much more fun that defeat.
Here is a chronology of my trying to win votes:
Not a city election – but Boy Scout Week always involved a city-wide election of members of the various scout troops throughout the city. In 1968, I as a member of Boy Scout Troop 680 at our school, my name was on the ballot to run for City Engineer (not normally an elected office but I suspect it promoted participation). I lost! I was then appointed Street Superintendent and got to spend Civic Day driving about town with the real superintendent to appreciate what his duties entailed.
I ran for Student Council Treasurer in high school. Despite a gallant effort, I lost!
In November, 1977, the city council was to appoint a new alderman in the 10th ward where I lived in the northeast corner of the city. I made a pitch to each of the 9 aldermen; got a commitment by one of them to nominate me for consideration and he made a commitment to support me with his vote “until it looks hopeless”. That came really fast, as in the first round of votes, the other two interested citizens under consideration split the majority of the votes, and one of them went on to win. I got one vote! I lost!
A year later in April, 1979, the person that was appointed earlier decided to step down, leaving the seat open, and I announced I would run again -against the other candidate from the 1977 council vote. But I learned a lesson. The clerk will point out you are required to get 20 signatures on a petition to get your name on the ballot. I got all 20 signatures the same day (the deadline day), turned them, only to find out the next day I was one vote short! The person in the middle of the sheet did not write the date on the page! It was disqualified! (and the date could not be added with Ditto marks or any alteration, despite the fact that they were all the same date). My name would not be on the ballot. I learned! Get more than the minimum signatures. I had to run a “write-in” campaign. And I did. Very respectable outcome, considering…I received 145 votes to my208 for my opponent. So, I lost! Again!
II moved to the southeast side of town and in April, 1980, my name was on the ballot against the 4-term incumbent. I went door-to-door again, asking my neighbors for their vote. Election day came around and I garnered 258 to 402 for the other guy. I lost! Again!
1982 came around, and I again challenged the same incumbent, and again went knocking on each door in the district (except for a very, very small handful). Election day, the count was 269 votes for me, and 273 for the other guy. Four votes!! (I had people come up to me a week later and said they were going to vote for me in the election – too little, too late). I lost! Again!
But the mayor apparently was impressed enough to offer me a position on the Fire & Police Commission, which I gratefully accepted. (since then, I proudly served on PFC from 1982 to 1986; 1992 to 1994; and 2009-2023).
1984 would have been the next election in our district, but my employer at time discouraged me from running figuring it might hurt business. “If the voters don’t get the street light they want, they won’t buy from us”. OK?!?
1985, I talked myself into running for city clerk. Thoughts of the election in 1979 flashed back in my head. Not saying the clerk at the time could have done anything different for the outcome of that write-in election, except being more insistent on me getting “more than” the required 20 signatures. But I used that as motivation to perform the duties of clerk better than what we were all used to. A city-wide election was something new. But I thought if I knocked on all the doors in the wards that had an election that year (5 of them), I might gain some ground. That didn’t work. Election day came around, ad Mr. Incumbent got 2109 votes, and I got 1307. The newspaper account stated my opponent “rolled to an easy victory”. Looks like it! I guess he did. I lost! Again!
1986. Victory at last!! Mr. 7-term alderman who had beat me 2 times before decided not to run for re-election. I had no opposition! I won! First time!!
1988. I was unopposed for re-election. I garnered 438 votes! I was also elected council president by my peers. The first time of many. I won! Again!
1990. Again, unopposed. Again, chosen council president by the council members. I won! Again!
1992. I chose not to run again. Instead, the new mayor appointed me to the PFC again for a 5-year term.
1994. I missed being on the city council. SO much that I ran again, and was opposed by a kindly individual who I took very seriously. I received 300 votes to the 254 votes my opponent recorded. I won! Again!
1996. Unopposed for reelection. I won! Again!
1998. Unopposed again! 306 votes. I won! Again!
2000. Unopposed. Again. I won! Again!
2002. I was up for re-election again. In the previous two years, the sitting mayor took a stand on several key issues regarding the new Hwy 13 boulevard; the proposed downtown hotel/conference center; the redesign of Central Ave in anticipation of the state turning over the two-mile strip of road as a local street.
And…the redistricting of the city voting wards. The mayor and a committee took the state/county map of voting districts, and in an attempt to redesign the ward boundaries, bounced 4 standing aldermen out of their districts! I was one of them! At the challenge, “if you think you can do it any better, go ahead”, the mayor said. “I will!” I replied, and after taking the computer program in hand, I redesigned the districts, following all the rules and guidelines, and the result, each current alderman remained in their original boundaries. It was called “Plan B”, and the city council approved the new map by a vote of 6-4. They mayor vetoed it, by the vote on the veto two weeks later upheld approval of Plan B.
I was outright, publicly, boldface accused of doing all this in a selfish attempt to maintain my ability to attempt to get re-elected again in 2004. I emphatically denied the charge, and to prove it, I announced I would not be a candidate for alderman in the 7th district again in the upcoming election! But I also said it was possible I might want to run again for alderman, “or some other city office”…. “But if I had to run tomorrow, I wouldn’t”.
Consequently, when the time came to consider re-election, I announced I chose instead to make my first attempt at the office of mayor.
Four people entered the primary in February, including in the incumbent and myself. I received 1269 votes (39%). The incumbent had 935 votes (28.8%). The other two received 1045 votes combined (32.2%). I won!
In the spring election in April, I beat the incumbent with 3303 votes (58.1%) to his 2342 votes (41.2%). I won!
2004. I ran for re-election as mayor, and attracted one opponent – a former mayor. In his announcement, he stated he was concerned that I “not run without opposition.” The vote in the city-wide April election I received 3307 votes (60.6%) and my challenger obtained 2146 (39.4%). I won! Again!
2006. I ran for a 3rd term as mayor. I was opposed by two others, one being a former alderman who only a year earlier stated he was “not looking to re-elected,” although his name was already on the ballot. He added, “It’s just a lot of work issues and personal issues as far as having the time.” He cited, “having to spend more hours in his business…and I need the family time”.
The city council made the decision to not hold a primary in February, primarily “due to cost”. Three candidates were on the ballot in the past, as recently as 1988 and 1990. The motion in January of 2006 to hold a primary for the three candidates 5-4 votes in favor of holding the primary. However, one alderman was absent, and a majority of the entire council was needed to pass the motion (6 votes). There would be no primary. (the city clerk was directed to draft an ordinance mandating a primary if three or more candidates were interested in future elections).
When election day came along. One opponent gained 181 votes (4.3%); one had 1967 votes (46.8%); and I had 2048 votes (48.8%). I won! Again!
So, when all is said and done, I ran for city office 16 times!!!
I lost six elections. I won ten elections. All in a span from 1977 through 2006.
What is it you want to know about the preparation and the anticipation? It’s never easy. With very few exceptions, I enjoyed every bit of it.
NOTE: EACH PORTION OF THIS STORY COULD BE EXPANDED ON IMMENSLY! Like how much effort goes into campaigning, and asking people to place a sign in their yard to show their support of me. Or, how much of a complete jackass the last opponent was! CHECK BACK FROM TIME TO TIME AS I DO JUST THAT!