When You’re Ready-Preparing Yourself to run for office in the future
People are often deterred away from running for office or get discouraged because of the makeup of previous leadership and fabricated barriers to entry. The truth is, many formal seats of power, including elected offices, don’t require a professional degree. – lived experience, YOUR lived experience, qualifies you for the position you are seeking and the change you want to make. It historically takes multiple times to ask someone to run for office for that person to take it seriously. Consider this your first ask!
@IntoAction
Like many among us, you might be frustrated with the amalgamation of issues that’ve busied our phones, disrupted and upended communities, and caused harm not just across the globe, but even in our own neighborhoods here in Arizona.
We recognize that the status quo is not working. – We need BOLD leadership that is community-centered and community-sourced. Yes - that means even YOU! Your lived experience is valuable and qualifies you for your run. You are the expert of what you and your community have gone through.
Consistently, hundreds of elected offices and empty seats are available each election cycle across the state. Many candidates run unopposed, or elections might be canceled when no one decides to run, especially at the local level.
Running for office is not the only pathway for community leaders to hold formal seats of power, and it’s crucial for our communities to seek beyond traditional spaces of leadership. Whether you’re interested in making a difference in education, passionate about democracy, or just fed up with the way things are around you, there are boards & commissions, precinct committee persons, those that volunteer and work for campaigns or community-based organizations, etc., that all have a say in how positive change can be carried out.
@IntoAction
Where & when to start:
When we source leaders from our own communities to hold formal seats of power, we recognize that this is not a light decision, and we want to ensure that our people feel supported throughout this process.
To seek available elected offices that are up for this cycle and upcoming ones, BallotReady generates a list of offices, descriptions, and their deadlines according to the address that you input. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed, knowing that over 20 seats might load. This guide helps dwindle that down to focus on what matters most to you.
In our Harvest Candidate Welcome Packet, we uncover those initial steps, raising the importance of grounding yourself in your why. What is happening around you that now serves as your purpose for wanting to give back to your community? A leader who keeps this ‘why’ close to them can use it as a foundation for their campaign and a north star once they get placed into that position. Pinpointing our why not only allows you to focus on seeking an office that you’re interested in — it also can reveal to you if this is something you’d like to do now or in the future. Instituto Power hosts 1:1 meetings with aspiring candidates to help with this as well!
As you continue to explore your interests, consider joining us at one of our upcoming events, or explore our Harvest Candidate & Staff Online Library, which holds over 13 specialized trainings, along with their slide decks and alternative worksheets or resources. Topics include Intro to Campaigns, Building a Support System, Fundraising to Win, and more.
If you’ve reached the end of this document and decided that running for office is actually not your jam, you want to wait for a future election cycle, or you’re interested in sitting on a board or commission, we invite you to fill out the Talent Database. This is a space for you to indicate your skills, career goals, and the professional development opportunities you’re seeking. As opportunities arrive, we prioritize bringing these to light to those who fill them out and facilitate connections when necessary. Our Job Board functions in tandem, allowing community members to view some of these opportunities in real time from partner organizations inside and outside of Arizona.
Determining when you’re ready to run might feel nuanced and include many factors. Please take into consideration that there is never really a “right time”. Start talking with your neighbors, show up to public events like town halls, school board/city council meetings, or even at the state legislature. Find a political home that provides you with a level of political education, which grounds you in how to connect the issues you see around you to the spaces of influence and seats that hold power to place these issues in a better place.
We envision an Arizona where residents take up leadership positions in their own communities, co-governing, or sharing power, with their neighbors. Community members often hold the solutions to the problems they’re experiencing, but lack the training, resources, or leadership positions to implement them.
People are often deterred from running for office or discouraged by the makeup of previous leadership and fabricated barriers to entry. The truth is, many formal seats of power, including elected offices, don’t require a professional degree. – lived experience, YOUR lived experience, qualifies you for the position you are seeking and the change you want to make. It historically takes multiple requests for someone to run for office before they take it seriously. Consider this document your first ask!
We hope to see you at one of our upcoming events, either in person or virtually, and we hope that you feel encouraged and are starting to see yourself in this progressive movement. To stay connected with us, join our email list.