I learned about grass roots' politics early. When I was six years old my mother took my sister and me by the hand and walked precincts for Harry Truman. I can remember my mother keeping us moving by telling us that we were making history. I wasn't quite sure what history was, but I got the message. Elections are very important. I still get that pumped up feeling at election time. Even though there cannot be anymore precinct walks for me , I look forward to putting the signs up in the front yard and on the garage.
Oceanside campaigns have changed. There is more money, and glitzy ad campaigns. I cannot remember the last time a condidate knocked on my door. Still , the precinct worker is the back bone of our political system. The walker, in tennis shoes, carrying promises and positions printed on their candidate's paper dreams remains the most powerful force in any election. The best precinct walker I know is Dixie Bales. At 70-plus she can still out walk and out talk anyone. Dixie is tireless and is the MVP of any campaign lucky enough to get her. Dixie tells me that most people are nice and understand her reason for being there, but an isolated place or two seems to have forgotten that the precinct worker is exercising her legal right to distribute campaign literature and is saving a considerable amount of money in mailing costs. That gives a more level playing field to challengers because incumbants can raise more special interest money.
To save money, we have consolidated our elections making our ballots too long for anyone to really study. The media is crowded with stories about Governors, Congressional candidates, Supervisors, City Council candidates, judges and school board candidates. You can hardly distinguish all the signs.
If you are fortunate enough to have Dixie knock on your door, you could ask her about her candidate or issue. She would appreciate the chance to sit a moment, but, if Dixie doesn't knock on your door, what can you do to learn about candidates and issues? For statewide offices, you can read, watch debates and perhaps follow your party affiliation but for local elections you can know more than that.
Call the City Clerk's office and ask for numbers for the campaign committees for all candidates and issues. And, ask for copies of the most recent campaign disclosure forms. Read the disclosures, noting names of contributors and where they work. Note how much money was collected in amounts less than $100. These dollars are not disclosed by name and are often where the most abuse occurs. It is not uncommon for contributors to give $99 checks to candidates to avoid disclosure. Checks for $99 from a developer, his wife, his mother in law, his secretary, and his attorney quickly add up to $500, undisclosed by name. If you do not know anything about a contributor's business ask the candidate to inform you.
