Why I WILL NOT run for public office

I've been asked, but I'm going to have to decline the suggestion.

It happened again the other day.

Somebody recommended I run for council here in my little city of Penticton. This time the suggested position was mayor but it’s usually council.

One savvy commenter once proposed school board because it thickens your skin before you take more lofty positions. I suppose having parents, teachers and administrators yelling and writing nasty things on Facebook about you would get that accomplished in short order.

Of course, I’m flattered by these motions. Like a lot of people, I’ve got a few ideas about how to make things better in my community. But I suspect some of these advocates are just mouthing these potential nominations with a sardonic edge, hoping that I’ll lose by a substantial number of votes. Just to prove my ideas have no value in the public realm.

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

And I have pondered and weighed the idea on more than one occasion, both sober and inebriated. I get close to sucking in a friend to be my campaign manager/bagman but then I give it another think and remember this one thing:

I don’t want to represent my constituents, I want to lead them.

I don’t want to show up to endless meetings supporting the status quo and making the system work for the average Jill or Joe. I’m not about potholes, dog parks and mill rates. I’m disinterested in the janitorial function of wading through emails and phone messages from people who want to plant more trees (which I favour but…).

Why not?

Because I have a problem. I think I have a better idea (about just about everything) and I don’t want to compromise, look for common ground or compel others to understand.

I’m not a dictator, I’m in favour of a representative democracy. I want a mandate from the public and I don’t want anybody surprised when I do what I do. There’s things to be done, I’ve done the homework, and in situations where I don’t know what to do, I know where the experts hang out so I don’t have to take a poll of the common people to figure out what to do next. Spoiler: I’m a card-carrying common person.

Frankly, my major flaw is my major strength. I know what’s best for everyone else. I recognize that as being arrogant and conceited, maybe even pompous. But I don’t want to build bridges of consensus. I want to build actual bridges, if need be, and get on with it.

Photo by Andrea De Santis on Unsplash

I strongly suspect people do not want that kind of leadership. They want responsive pawns that are helping voters with their individual needs. For a system that’s built around the premise of egalitarian principles, there sure are a lot of people who use ‘me’ and ‘I’ a lot in their lamentations. It’s very seldom that you hear the average plebe arguing for the greater good or anything visionary.

I don’t need to be hamstrung by playing politics with the hope of being re-elected. I want in to charge in, spend a lot of tax money, and make things go.

And so for those reasons (mostly) I must decline any attempt to have me drafted for elected public service. I will stick to committees, backroom shenanigans and advisory boards, if they’ll have me.