I've never blogged before. I've never run for State Rep, either. Patrick and the Patch were kind enough to offer the candidates for the 11th Plymouth seat an opportunity to blog about the campaign. Frankly, I have no idea if this will be interesting to anyone, but since I'm trying new things, I'll give it a shot.
I'm going to try to avoid a repetitive recitation of the day or week's activities (just assume there was lots of door knocking, fund-raising, coffee drinking etc.) and focus on some of the things that are more personal and unique to a candidate or office holder. I hope you find them worth reading.
Let's start by looking back..I knew, when I ran for the Easton Board of Selectmen seat, that there would be new experiences. I had never seen my name on a lawn sign, stood in front of the polls and waved to people I didn't know or sat in a living room surrounded by strangers firing questions. There is a very exposed feeling when you step out of your normal life and run for office, even on a local level. Stepping out of one's comfort zone can provide some unexpected experiences, also, and recently one memory became particularly poignant to me. Two weeks ago, my father passed away after a brief struggle with cancer. Since then, many memories have been rushing back, but one relates to being a selectman.
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There is a distinct lack of pageantry when one wins election to a BOS seat. The swearing in lasts about 10 seconds and takes place alone with the Clerk, (we may have shook hands when it was done, I offered to hug it out, he declined) and at the first meeting, the Chair welcomes the new members, pauses for a spilt second (no applause, no speeches), moves on to the next in a long line of one day Liquor License requests. It would have been utterly forgettable, except that two minutes before the meeting started, my father snuck into the back row. By 7:02, he was gone, but he wanted to be present for that moment. It wasn't a big moment in the scheme of things, but it was to him, and he made it so for me. You are never too old to make your Dad proud.
Going forward, we will talk about issues, events, debates and many other things, but I hope to give some insight into the personal and family side of being in a campaign. Let me know what else you'd like to hear about. Thanks.
