Running for school board in Minnesota with Kelsey Waits
After the 2016 election, I kept the possibility of running for office on my back burner. It was an idea to keep in mind as a possibility for the distant future. I kept making excuses about why right now wasn’t the right time for me. I told myself that I was too young, that I was too new to our city, and of course that I didn’t have the necessary qualifications for an elected government position (a common theme among women applying for any position).
Part of my issue is that I was thinking too big. When I thought of an elected office, my mind immediately went to state legislative positions or higher. In my mind, these were the positions that made the most impact on our community. Why would I look at anything smaller? Then I discovered Run For Something. The idea of preparing a progressive bench of eager young leaders made sense to me and it inspired me. I wanted to be a part of that bench.
I was excited about running, but also terrified. I still kept telling myself to wait, until the very last day of filing. Without thinking, I went to my district office and applied to run for school board. Just jumping in was the best decision that I ever made. I didn’t give myself time to second guess the decision or make excuses. It was done.
Running for office was fantastic and more fun than I could have imagined. I loved going door-to-door and talking to our community members. They were impressed with my willingness to get out there and to listen to the community. I campaigned on the idea that our community needed young voices in our local government, especially as they are struggling to attract young families to the city. Turns out, there were a lot of community members who strongly agreed with that and were eager to get some new young voices on the board.
Another thing that surprised me was the cost of campaign materials. We realized early on that as a newcomer to our city, I lacked the name recognition that the other candidates had. Because of that, we needed to splurge on mailers and other advertisements to get my name out there. I had been really nervous about fundraising, but It turns out, people are willing to invest in you if you just ask. It was amazing to see how much support I had.
Winning an election on my first attempt, especially going in with 0% name recognition has drawn attention to me as a candidate. Last week I was told by a statewide women’s PAC that they have their eye on me for a 2020 state legislative race and they are helping me to build a strong network before then.
If I hadn’t learned about Run For Something’s vision, I don’t think that I would have run, at least not for many more years.
