I wrote my first column for the Optimist in 2011, about my experience running for school trustee - I didn't win. So I ran this year, and I didn't win - again. I now realize that I didn't have a chance this time, either.
Just like 2011, I thought I did all the right things. Since losing back then, I stayed involved with district issues. I fought alongside the board for the buses. I tried to raise awareness about issues they felt were important.
I had the great honour to be asked to write this column, which I felt would bring me a lot of awareness and provide an opportunity for people to get to know me. The Delta Teachers' Association (DTA) even endorsed me, something I really didn't expect.
I reused my signs. I built a website. I tweeted about the issues and my ideas.
I prepared for the all-candidates meetings - four of them - and spoke to the issues. I went around neighbourhoods and met people. My campaign team (consisting of my wife and my mother) dropped off door hangers and cards.
People emailed me and stopped me on the street or in a store. "I'm voting for you," they said. Walking into municipal hall on election night, I was feeling pretty good.
It only took about seven polls reporting before I knew I wasn't going to be elected. I had hoped I had built a network of voters, and I was wrong. That network has to be solid and in place before the election even gets underway. The campaign, in the end, means very little. I should have read my first column more closely.
Municipal elections, especially in a community like ours, have historically low voter turnout. If you can secure about 6,000 votes ahead of time, the rest will come on election day. Many incumbents know this, which is how two of them can get re-elected despite public criticism over boycotting some all-candidates meetings.
But the real wild card this year was the Kids Matter team. The DTA said it wanted to get "more vocal" people elected, and it found the right guy to make it happen. Nic Slater is a fundraiser for the NDP and has strong connections within the party, having run provincially and federally in Delta.
Slater likely has a huge database of people to contact and rely on to vote based on his background and recommendation. The results prove it: two relatively unknown candidates on his ticket finished fourth and seventh, with Slater just shy of earning a seat himself. I have to hand it to him, he got the job done.
Others have said that you need name recognition to win a municipal election. Having been through this twice, I'm not convinced. With a bigger turnout, yes, it would make a difference, but our onethird turnout in Delta elections just doesn't support the name recognition theory.
With most voters having decided in advance based on who they already know or who is recommended to them, the campaign itself is of little consequence.
It'll be fun to watch next time from the sidelines. But on the bright side, at least I got to write my 50th column. Even if it does sound a lot like the first one.
