Elwar
11-28-2010, 10:55 AM
I'm taking my first step into politics this week. I'm running for one of the three open seats of Water director at my local water company. There are 7 seats in total.
Our local water company is private, but the customers/members have a say in things and can run for director.
I like that it's private but I don't like that it's a monopoly. I've heard that the good ol' boy system is alive and well and that customers are treated like crap because they have no alternative source of water (and I've been working on trying to get myself off of the city water but it's not that easy).
It's not that huge of a deal but it's a foot in the door for politics. The H udson W ater W orks is actually almost like our mayor and city council in town since we aren't incorporated. The water company is like our local government, though they don't have power they like to try to plan things for the city.
I figured I'd run on the idea of being a fresh face to the water company, bring transparency and my main plank will be allowing automated payment (right now you have to either mail in a check or go down to the water company and pay in person).
My main disadvantage is that I've never been to one of their meetings so I'm going in cold. And I'm in my 30s, whereas I'm sure most of the voters will be very retired. And I've only lived in town for 2 years.
The only information I could gather from the 'net is that the last time someone tried to run who wasn't part of the old guard (back in 2008), they got some media attention soon before the election and then on voting night they had a full house, they turned people away at the door because they said that over 100 people was "against fire code". The old guard had stacked the room beforehand. The vote turned out 51-49 against the new person.
The article I read said that "usually we have a hard time finding volunteers".
I'm thinking my first approach would be to politely speak with one of the old guard and tell him that I'd like to volunteer as a director. That I'm new to H udson and would like to do my part. Get a feel for whether or not this year is going to be a contentious year or not. The last newcomer was running because they were mad at the company and wanted to throw a wrench into things.
If that approach doesn't work. I need to fill the place with 100 people, early on voting day. That's not really too easy since it's a Tuesday night in January when that is the only thing that will be voted on. And most people could care less.
And I've been going to Toastmasters, so I'll be practicing my speech between now and then. I need to talk to some locals to get a better idea of how things work with the water company though...I'm kinda going in blind at this point.
Our local water company is private, but the customers/members have a say in things and can run for director.
I like that it's private but I don't like that it's a monopoly. I've heard that the good ol' boy system is alive and well and that customers are treated like crap because they have no alternative source of water (and I've been working on trying to get myself off of the city water but it's not that easy).
It's not that huge of a deal but it's a foot in the door for politics. The H udson W ater W orks is actually almost like our mayor and city council in town since we aren't incorporated. The water company is like our local government, though they don't have power they like to try to plan things for the city.
I figured I'd run on the idea of being a fresh face to the water company, bring transparency and my main plank will be allowing automated payment (right now you have to either mail in a check or go down to the water company and pay in person).
My main disadvantage is that I've never been to one of their meetings so I'm going in cold. And I'm in my 30s, whereas I'm sure most of the voters will be very retired. And I've only lived in town for 2 years.
The only information I could gather from the 'net is that the last time someone tried to run who wasn't part of the old guard (back in 2008), they got some media attention soon before the election and then on voting night they had a full house, they turned people away at the door because they said that over 100 people was "against fire code". The old guard had stacked the room beforehand. The vote turned out 51-49 against the new person.
The article I read said that "usually we have a hard time finding volunteers".
I'm thinking my first approach would be to politely speak with one of the old guard and tell him that I'd like to volunteer as a director. That I'm new to H udson and would like to do my part. Get a feel for whether or not this year is going to be a contentious year or not. The last newcomer was running because they were mad at the company and wanted to throw a wrench into things.
If that approach doesn't work. I need to fill the place with 100 people, early on voting day. That's not really too easy since it's a Tuesday night in January when that is the only thing that will be voted on. And most people could care less.
And I've been going to Toastmasters, so I'll be practicing my speech between now and then. I need to talk to some locals to get a better idea of how things work with the water company though...I'm kinda going in blind at this point.