Getting Back in the Game

My long-time readers will know that I was very involved in politics back in New York, but ever since moving Uville, I've been laying low. Part of it was because I needed a break, but I also needed to focus on my dissertation. Politics can be a very time consuming hobby! I got to know a few people around town, but pretty much kept to the fringes. So other than doing some work the month before the 2006 elections, I was essentially invisible.

Or so I thought. It turns out that when I told people that I was going to be a lot more involved in 2008, they listened. Apparently there's been widespread speculation about what candidate I'd be working for this year. Who knew? It's pretty flattering, actually.

I've decided to manage the campaign of someone running for a local office. I won't say which office or where of course, but the candidate is a very earnest man who I know moderately well and comes highly recommended by people I like. He doesn't have much experience as a candidate, but he's got a lot of substance. The downside is that the primary race is contested, which means I'll have to be fighting with other Democrats. There are three seats open and four candidates - two women and two men (everybody runs on the same ballot and the top three vote-getters get in).

To make matters somewhat more awkward, one woman ("S") and one man ("W") are incumbents, which means in the eyes of many people, the race will be between my male candidate (call him G) and the other nonincumbent female candidate (call her J). I don't really know J, but I can count: there's a very strong women's political organization here, and Democratic primaries are usually overwhelming female. So if it's a straight-up contest that falls along gender lines, we lose. Which means I'll have to focus on defeating the incumbent man, W (no relation to Bush!), who is about 80 years old and whom no one thought was seeking another term. Frankly I'd much rather try to defeat an old man who doesn't campaign much than a woman who's been involved in local campaigns for years. I'm going to have to hope that my candidate, G, can out-campaign and win over women by avoiding the impression he's running against J - all without going negative on W. Very tricky.

It's all quite exciting, and Brazen Hussy has been very supportive (she encouraged me to do it, even). I've missed being involved in electoral politics, and I've never been the principal campaign manager before. I'm sure I'll make a lot of mistakes, but then again who doesn't. I'm trying to persuade myself I won't be that upset if we lose. Sure I won't.