Health & Fitness
Let's Look At Campaigns Like a Job Interview
Consider looking at campaigns to being a job interview. Devise an appropriate job description, then study how candidates' records, skills and qualifications match.
This past Tuesday, the day of the Florida primary, I interviewed a guy for a new position at our company. Earlier, I read his resume, then realized I wasn't sure exactly what we were looking for, so I had to find and closely read the posted job description. It struck me that we should be evaluating candidates for office in the same way: determine the role they should be playing, investigate their qualifications and skills, evaluate their relevant experience and dig into their backgrounds. And we are doing the hiring.
Most elected and appointed officials have at least some of their roles and responsibilities defined by law. These include everything from Congress to school boards to dog catcher. (Do any towns actually have that as an elected position?) I do like that it can vary by town, which is part of the charm of local government. Whether in the public or private sector, any board member should have the respect of the relevant staff members and be able to develop working relationships with them.
When you hire someone, you always look at previous jobs. Is it relevant that a presidential or gubernatorial candate was a CEO? How about a small business owner who wants to be a selectman? I think it can contribute, but we're not hiring a CEO looking to turn a profit and stamp out the competition. Experience hiring or appointing people to positions is important in many offices or boards. Of course understanding budgeting and planning is essential for most. Holding almost any responsible job or volunteer position or board or committee position for a period of time is definitely a excellent indicator, as is progression of positions on a career path This shows stability, discipline, follow through and growth and applies equally to elected office or jobs.
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Looking for negatives is pretty standard. Fraud or ethics violations? That does not seem to bother Gingrich supporters; it would raise a big red flag for most of us on the town ballot in April. Arrest record, restraining orders or other local police log worthy offenses? One appearance is not so good, multiple is a very bad pattern. I think credit checks for jobs or campaigns are too intrusive. Bankrupcy? Fair game for anyone dealing with finances. Conflict of interest problems? Sometimes that's obvious, sometimes unintentional. My company says to not do Google or Facebook searches on job candidates for such stuff; yeah, I sometimes do anyway.
Public records are an interesting source of info, even if they feel a little voyeuristic. But seeing whose campaigns candidates contributed to tells something about their priorities. The state lets you search contribution info on the web for Mass elections. For local elections, you'd have to dig through paper records. Town clerks also maintain records of who voted in which elections, so if a candidate claims to have supported some local issue, and they did not even vote, you can call them on it.
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A candidate's education? That's important to most of us in Belmont. For the more demanding and complex positions, I tend to think the mix of higher academics with practical experience is best. And exposure to the ideas and people you'd get in college, far away from Belmont, is a big plus.
How about being an advocate for your area of responsibility? I think the more local the position, the more important advocacy is. At the town level, the candidate is often part of that base that best knows the needs. If you aspire to the Cemetery Commission, you should surely be an advocate for Cemeteries. If School Committee, you should be an advocate for school children. Similar for Rec Commission, Council on Aging and Historic Preservation. Yes, an advocate; there are plenty of nay-sayers pushing from outside those boards.
I don't find it especially relevant if I can identify with a job applicant. I often want them to complement my teams, not mimic. However, for most elected positions, especially local ones, I want the candidate to know firsthand what what my concerns are, even if their views might differ. As Bill Clinton has said, "I feel your pain", and in his lifetime, he had. A candidate who does not juggle daily commutes, home repairs, property taxes, kids' music lessons and homework and sports, and concern for aging parents cannot really know my perspective.
A last aspect: ideology. Would I want to hire an anti-Linux, Microsoft, or Apple ideologue at my company? Would I vote for someone who pledges to never, ever raise taxes no matter what? In reality, very few of us are 100 percent pro- or anti- gun, abortion, war, religion, whatever. Why can't we be comfortable with candidates that are somewhere in the middle? It's OK to be pro-Sox and anti-Yankees, of course.
Trying to satisfy all the above is contradictory and impossible. We have to find a balance of what's more important, whether hiring or voting.
I'll dig more into local Belmont positions sometime soon.