A Perfect Storm in the Voting Booth

Next November, there will be more election campaigns occurring simultaneously in Charlottesville than at anytime in recent Cville history.

On the Nov. 2007 ballot there will be:

1 State Senate seat up for grabs (currently held by Creigh Deeds)

1 State Delegate seat up for grabs (currently held by David Toscano)

3 At-Large City Council seats up for grabs (currently held by David Brown, Kendra Hamilton and Kevin Lynch)

4 At-Large City School Board seats up for grabs (currently held by Lou Bograd, Alvin Edwards, Julie Gronlund, and Peggy Van Yahres)

2 Thomas Jefferson Soil & Water Conservation Board seats up for grabs (new to the ballot--yes, these will be elected positions, don't ask me why)

That's 11 races total. If even half of these races are contested (and I hope they all are -- competition is good for democracy), you can expect to see a whole lot of electioneering going on next year.

I have no idea how many of these incumbents will be running again, but my guess is that among these 11 races, there will be at least a few open seats. So if you have the slightest inclination to run for elected office, next year's your year -- start getting ready!

UPDATE: Along the lines of "start getting ready!", I just learned of a great training coming up in January for women who want to learn more about running for office or managing an election campaign -- it's called "RUNNING TO WIN -- A Workshop for Female Candidates, Advisors and Organizers" and will take place Jan. 5-7, 2007 at Old Dominion University in Norfolk. It's co-sponsored by Virginia NOW, the League of Women Voters of Virginia, and the National Women’s Political Caucus of Virginia. For more info., go to: http://www.vanow.org/node/77. We need more women in politics and this sounds like an excellent way to pursue that goal.