Candidates don't care until you vote

This is a post I've long pondered. It's about whether you should vote in the upcoming election.  Much of what I'm about to say is coming out of my decision to get more deeply involved in this election with a couple of candidates.

In putting together the virtual candidates forum (which has grabbed the attention of more voters than all of the live forums in the last two election cycles), I've learned that those people who do vote generally don't vote for candidates for local office based on qualifications. They take a wild guess, vote for or against incumbents, or (and this is the most common) against a candidate they felt a slighted them some time in the past.  And in Redwood City, every candidate has at least one voter who dislikes them for that reason.

Most people, however, don't vote unless a presidency is on the line. I recently learned that two of our current city council candidates have never voted in a local election according to county voting records. One wasn't even registered to vote until this year. That apathy has always frustrated me and I've never understood it until this year.

I'm a communications and marketing consultant and I've always been perplexed with sales people who will ignore potential sales to go after former customers, a practice that results in larger individual sales but also shrinks markets and more aggressive companies snap up the potential customers. In consulting to churches and non-profits I've found the same tendencies, injecting entropy into the organizations' growth.

I should not have been surprised to learn the same thing exists in politics.  

I joined the team of one candidate because I was promised that it would not be business as usual.  My concern has always been with the areas and groups that don't turn out and was promised we would do that.  Specifically, we'd reach out to voters south of Woodside Road, Hispanics and under-30s.  When I went to the first planning meeting of the team, however, the professional campaign consultant said we were going to ignore those groups because "they don't vote."

That was disappointing because it meant I was going to walk away from the effort, but I was soon to learn that every political consultant says the same thing. Go for the low hanging fruit. People who give money vote and, often, people who vote give money.

The reason people under 30, Hispanics and residents of Friendly Acres give for not voting is because they feel ignored by the candidates and issues groups.  The politicians ignore them because they don't vote.  It's a never-ending death cycle that you can see by the ever-shrinking electorate.  We have to break the cycle.  So this is what I have to say to everyone who doesn't vote, especially locally, because you feel it does no good.

Vote anyway.

If you don't vote you prove the consultants right; that there is no reason to waste a candidate's time on trying to win over a non voter.

Vote and prove them wrong.If the voter numbers see a 1 percent increase in the turnout of the disenfranchised, they will have to sit up and take notice at the next election. The more often you vote, the more likely the politicians will pay attention to your issues.

Vote even if you don't know who to vote for. Vote for people you like. Vote against people you don't like.  It doesn't matter at this point who you vote for.  It only matters that your name shows up when they count the votes.  At least for now.  We have to wake up the establishment and start working long term.  You might make a difference now. You might make a difference later. It will only mean nothing if you don't vote.

In my view, Redwood City is unusually blessed.  We have had a good council for a couple of decades and they've made us prosper relative to so many neighboring communities.  How many Bay Area cities have 8-figure reserve funds now?  We have at least four good candidates for three open seats, possibly more.  No matter who you vote for, you can't really screw it up.  So vote.  

It's the only way to make things better.