Why I’m running for office

I never considered myself “political,” but this year something clicked

Running for office

In mid-November of 2016, several people asked me if I had ever considered running for Village Trustee. I had been approached before and always laughed it off. I’m not well-known or wealthy. I don’t crave power. I’m not even particularly extroverted. I have always been perfectly content to simply be a good citizen.

But the 2016 United States Presidential campaign changed me. And now when I was asked to run for Trustee, something clicked. I thought, I can’t complain about my political options if I’m not willing to be an option. I couldn’t do anything about the national race, but maybe in my little hometown I could play a role. After a few days of thinking and praying and soliciting advice, I made my decision. I’m running for office. I’m running for Village Trustee.

What about LifeLines?

Does running for office fit in with the purpose of the LifeLines blog? I think it does. This site is all about helping people (and businesses, and nonprofits) share their story. And though I wrote my vision and mission more than seven years ago, they seem uniquely appropriate to our current socio-political climate:

LifeLines Publishing Vision
We envision a world where language is used skillfully to—
inspire noble deeds,
organize complex thoughts,
replace cynicism with trust,
preserve historical truth,
and develop richer connections between people.

LifeLines Publishing Mission
We listen to our customers,
ask questions until we understand,
conduct extensive research,
and then craft a message that is
accurate, straightforward, beautiful, and effective.

I want to cast that kind of vision as a Trustee in my hometown. I want to use my listening skills to learn from my fellow citizens, and I want to use my communication skills to share our hopes and wishes around the Village Board room table. I want to replace cynicism with trust—so people and government are working together again. I want to celebrate my town’s diversity and figure out ways for different cultures to develop richer connections.

Finding and engaging

I understand that as people learn that I’m running for office, they may want to find out more about me. And they should. So when prospective voters Google me, this LifeLines website will probably appear in the results. I’m hoping this post can act as a bridge between my life as a writer and my potential service as a Trustee.

I might post future blogs about local political issues, and my current LifeLines subscribers might decide such posts are irrelevant to them. I understand that, and I won’t be offended by any unsubscribes. But I’ve always appreciated the level of conversation LifeLines subscribers have engaged in here, and I’d love it if you’d engage me on these subjects as well.

Thank you! Let’s see what happens!