How to Make a Real Impact This Election

Whenever I see a spray of political signs, I always look for the names I don't recognize. And the reason is simple: those are likely the races where I can have the most impact.

There's a good chance that these are signs for local races – school board, city council, water district, probate judge. What's unique about these elections is that most of them are nonpartisan, so candidates don't run with a D or R next to their name.

Layer onto that the gutting of local journalism - making it quite tricky to track what happens at the city council or school board - and most folks look at their ballot and have no clue what these candidates stand for.

And this, dear reader, is the void we can step helpfully into.

Every election, I make a strong cup of tea and sit down to a bit of homework on these local races. I read up on key decisions, talk to folks I trust. Then I send out my voting recommendations with a short justification - she took a principled stand on school funding, he missed the mark on this housing development - and I ask folks to share it around.

Many of these races are decided by a tiny universe of people. There was a city councilor in my town who won by 475 votes. That's 2% of my town's voting age population. Two percent whose vote impacted if the old middle school building would host much needed transitional housing, if we'd raise property taxes, if we'd protect a popular coastal park from development, if we'd play nice with the regional bus system and open up more public transit options for residents, if we'd have a shelter, and a whole lot more.

I share my voting recs with a few neighbors who can each share with a few neighbors who can each share with a few neighbors, and now we're really chopping wood! In other words, these recs could be the difference between a councilor you think is top notch and one you wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole.

So next time you see a median freckled with unfamiliar political signs, know that there's a whole lot of power in those unknown names, power that's just waiting for a strong cup of tea and a bit of homework.