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Dick Spotswood
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THERE COMES A TIME for responsible citizens to stop complaining about the condition of government and take matters into their own hands. The great safety valve in a democracy is elections, particularly of the small town variety.

Filing has just opened for a mind-boggling 128 Marin County nonpartisan elected posts. Most of these offices don't pay a penny. The remainder offers only token stipends.

The only promise to potential candidates is hard work and the inevitability of criticism. That's matched with an incredible sense of personal accomplishment and of duty done.

Serving can be intellectually rewarding and fun. If that wasn't true, why do you think veteran officials fight to the death to retain their seats?

The qualification for local office is community experience, patience, commons sense, integrity, a thick skin and a lack of arrogance. A dose of real-world experience in finance and small business management helps.

The Nov. 5 balloting sees election for eight city councils, the county Board of Education and the Marin Community College boards. Also up for grabs are governing board seats on six fire protection districts, six community service districts, two West Marin public utility districts, seven sewage agencies, North Marin's water board and 15 school districts.

If readers ever thought of running for local office, now is the time to throw their hats in the ring.


Filing closes on Aug. 9, unless an incumbent in a particular jurisdiction decides not to run. In that event, filing remains open for an extra five days.

That short extension prevents the old switcheroo. That's where an incumbent supposedly decides at the last minute not to run and gives a political disciple a heads-up. The result is an uncontested election since no one else but the insider knew about the open seat.

Many fire and sewage agency directors and even a few city council members will go unchallenged. Some contend that uncontested elections indicate the public is content with the status quo. That self-serving logic isn't necessarily true. An uncontested election is often the sign of a community's troubled political culture where disinterest rules.

This year, there's much to debate. The omnipresent threat of wildland fires, misplaced spending priorities, unsustainable public employee pensions and public employee free health-care perks, the creation of high-density subsidized housing or poor roads are among the likely local issues.

Voters are entitled to discuss possible alternatives.

This isn't to condemn incumbents. With some exceptions, the average Marin council member, school trustee and special purpose district director is an intelligent, responsive citizen who is essentially a volunteer.

The better incumbents deserve your vote, but voters likewise deserve to cast that vote where they have a real choice. That's the only way council members and directors earn genuine mandates to pursue their issue-based platforms.

Running for local office isn't particularly expensive. Admittedly, races for council seats in San Rafael and Novato can cost $50,000 to $75,000. In municipalities like Mill Valley, Fairfax and Tiburon, it's more like $5,000 to $15,000. That's a sum easily raised or personally financed.

Campaigns for special purpose districts and school boards rarely spend more than $1,000. Sometimes it involves nothing more than printing flyers handed out while canvassing door-to-door.

Even where incumbents are likely winners, insurgents do everyone, incumbents included, a favor. The fresh candidate forces issues to be debated and all are compelled to learn what their neighbors think about town or district affairs.

Upsets do occur. Don't believe it? Ask former Assemblyman Michael Allen. Pundits said he couldn't lose. San Rafael Councilman Marc Levine didn't buy that. His gutsy effort resulted in the upset of the decade.
