Marathon Weekend 3/17/13
I have been waiting for this weekend for two years. A couple of years ago, I ran for our local school board, and fell short of election by less than two hundred votes, as did two of my running mates. The good news is that two other of my running mates did win election.
School board elections in the state of Pennsylvania are held in the odd year elections. Unfortunately, too many people do not see the need for voting during these off-years. But the truth is, school board elections could not be any more important.
As a parent with two children attending public schools in our district, I have seen first hand the decisions made by our current board and district administration. I cannot fathom how we expect to prepare our children for the future, when all we do is eliminate even some of the most basic of education tools. Countless stories tell of obesity linked to overweight children. The arts and music have a direct impact on a child’s learning abilities.
As a homeowner, and a taxpayer, of course I care what happens in our district. The value of the district directly affects the value of my home.
Campaigning takes a lot of time and commitment. I am not a fly-by-night candidate. Along with two of my running mates from two years ago, we stayed involved with school district meetings and information. We have spent the last two years learning more how the district operates. Even better, we have a head start, a better idea of what it will take to win this time around.
Everyone will be reminded by the incumbents that this is a volunteer position, as if that is supposed to be a major qualification. The fact is, I know it is a volunteer position. And Tina and Alex and I have been volunteering for the last two years, building up knowledge and experience. And even harder than being a volunteer position, is the amount of time that is spent away from my family, away from my daughters. but I am doing this for them.
I hold a regular forty-hour week job, and a lot of my evenings are spent attending meetings. And starting this weekend, that will increase. But then there is also the campaigning that must be done. Yesterday was a full slate of candidate photos in the morning, lunch and strategizing, and then attending another candidate in another local election. That is good publicity for her, and for us.
Today, we officially kicked off our campaign. We held a fundraiser and Meet ‘N’ Greet. For me, the fundraising is secondary, because I believe that when a person takes the time to get to know me, they know that everything that I will campaign on, is from the heart, sincere.
Tomorrow I return to normal life, for at least part of the day. In the evening, I will put my campaign shoes back on.
Paul's Heart 