Door to Door Lessons – Districts

    During the months leading up to the April 5th election Mia and I knocked on the doors of some 6,500 likely voters.  I have attended many meetings here in Central where an elected official or a citizen has spoken and said “the voters want” or “the people favor”, and I am here to tell you that there is no better way to hear from the people of Central than to go out and ask them what they think.
    There were a number of issues that were overwhelmingly supported by Central’s voters, most of which I expected, but it was good to hear it firsthand.  Council elections by District was near the top of that list.  I started the campaign with some of these ideas, learned much along the way, and here is my opinion today.
    A city of 66 square miles is too diverse for at-large council elections.  Mia and I knocked on doors of million dollar homes and on doors of houses smaller than a three car garage.  We walked brand new, modern neighborhoods, and clusters of old houses on rural streets that most people in Central would never know were there.
    The needs and wants of the citizens who have chosen so completely different lifestyles are simply too diverse for at-large elections.  Citizens need to be represented by a person who understands and stays in touch with their part of our city.
    At-large council elections will always favor incumbents and those with access to money.  The name recognition required for a successful at-large council race calls for either being an incumbent or buying signs, push cards, and advertising, all of which are expensive.  It is not unusual for a council candidate to spend upwards of $10,000 in a council race.
    The relationship between campaign dollars spent and votes received is a known issue nationally.  With district elections in Central, we can break that barrier.  In five districts a candidate would need only 800 votes to be elected.  I have heard the concern “What if there was not a willing and able candidate from that District?”  I say that if a candidate knows they can go door-to-door and friend to friend looking for 800 votes in their own back yard, and not spend $10,000 in the process, more of the truly capable would also be willing to run.
    The clincher for me was the request I got from MANY voters while I stood at their door.  Informed and intelligent people would ask me “Which council candidates should I vote for?  With 11 candidates there is just not enough information out there to decide, and they all say the same things.”  In head to head district elections, voters have a clear choice and cast one vote, and it is likely that one if not all of those choices will have knocked on their door.
    Four years ago someone mused “Best five out of ten is a great way to choose a Homecoming Court, but not a good way to run a city.”  I don’t disagree, and with every candidate in this last election coming out in favor of districts in some form, I look forward to that happening soon.  That would be Good News for a Great City.