Ready to Change the World? Start at the Bottom

A beginner’s guide to down-ticket activism

Image by Sue Boudreau

Sometimes the best way to make big changes is to start in the little places everyone else ignores.

Before each election, the massive Voter Information Guide booklet thuds through my door, and I make an honest effort to read it.

But by the time I get the candidates for county sheriff, municipal transit, schools, mosquito abatement, and fire protection boards, I’m done, bogged down by happy-clappy buzzword-ridden campaign statements that make it impossible to figure out differences between candidates I’ve never heard of.

That sort of disengagement makes relatively easy to get elected to down-ticket offices — which can make it easy for people with an agenda to get into those obscure offices and enact their agenda in powerful ways.

For example, until recently, school board positions in my small town were passed from one local burgher to the next like a mantle of civic responsibility. (Contesting the offices would have felt, well, rude.)

But local and state school boards can:

• control local educational policy, superintendent appointments
• adopt curriculum that emphasize factual recall over critical thinking*
• approve textbooks that promote a particular perspective on social, science, and historical issues (for example, “abstinence only” sex education)

(* As happened with the State Board of Education’s 1997 California Science Content Standards. In 2013, the Board adopted the current Next Generation Science Standards that emphasize critical thinking and problem-solving. A similar swing happened with the Common Core state standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics.)

All of this can play a significant role in shaping the next generation of voters. Which is why, over the past 40 years, while too many of us were not paying attention to local government, the Christian Right has been encouraging members of their congregations to run for school boards in particular.

My friend, an ex-member of an evangelical fundamentalist denomination, says members of her congregation were urged to run. Their minister said, “We’ll pay your election expenses, we’ll coach you, and if you do well at the school board, we’ll help you with getting elected to a state congressional seat.” (See Melissa M.Deckman’s School Board Battles: The Christian Right in Local Politics.)

Over time this quiet, multi-faceted, and disciplined approach — starting at the school-board level, slowly working up through state legislatures, and then into Congress — has helped the Christian Right change the makeup of the highest courts of the land, bringing them closer to achieving their ultimate goal: banning abortion.

Imagine what the Progressive Left could do with a similar approach. We have the money and connections, but what if we also had the discipline and far-sightedness? What happens when we do pay attention?

Not interested in education? Pick an arena of government that lights you up

• USA.gov’s guide to local governments helps you find your local councils, boards, and programs.
• FutureNow.org has amazing resources helps you target the policies you really care about and suggests what you can do.
• Ready to change things from within? Find electoral opportunities at runforoffice.org. Local government is an area where the grass is actually greener and kinder than national politics. Look for potential roles that truly excite you personally, not just what you think you should do.
• And my own piece on finding your activism “sweet spot”

Now you have a sense of where to go, but how do you start?

1. Follow the agencies and boards that interest you. Read their websites, look for agenda items that you care about, and sign up for public meeting alerts. In the name of transparency, all states have open-meeting “sunshine laws” that allow the public to attend and usually participate in local legislative meetings.

2. Read the pdfs of agenda items. The devil is in these details, and it’s common to bury controversial decisions here. Unless the public pays attention, all kinds of stuff gets hidden in 600-page board packets and gaveled through as a “consent item.”

3. Attend a meeting. So much soap-opera drama and intrigue if you’ve done your homework. And all this entertainment for free!

4. Write your comments to the decision makers ahead of time if you think something really important is coming up. You can also make a public comment at the meeting, which is better for press coverage and to energize others who support your point of view. But comments ahead of time give decision makers time to consider their vote — by the time they’re in the meeting, they’ve often made up their minds.

5. Arrange to meet with your local board member. Only deal with your local elected officials. If they already agree with you, give them encouragement and support, especially if they’re going to take an unpopular stand on an issue you care about.

Build a relationship of trust and support with your representatives

If your elected representative does not agree with you, it’s even more important to write and also ask for an in-person meeting.

• Bring a friend along if you’re nervous and need moral support.When discussing their viewpoints, ask them the story of how they arrived at their stance or decision.
• Be clear about what you want them to do and why, and appeal to their interests — such as being re-elected.
• Give details of why they can/should make the right decision — this gives them cover without having to do the research themselves. (Follow up with a written copy of the research for their future reference.)
• Offer your help and set them up to look like a brave hero for making the right decision. As the English Jesuit Father Strickland said in 1863, “A man may do an immense deal of good, if he does not care who gets the credit for it.”
• Thank them, and let them know you trust them to do the right thing.

If positive relationship building tactics aren’t working, ramp up the pressure

• Look up the law around issues that you are following and use the terms in your public comments. Often law, particularly “confidentiality” is cited as a hiding place for controversial (and sometimes corrupt or cowardly) decisions. If you come pre-armed with knowledge and vocabulary, you can counter instead of being intimidated. The law is not as difficult to read as lawyers would have you think — it can be tedious, but validating. (I’ve known the thrill of using the word “CEQA” to change the face of a smug city council member all set to gut a land-use ordinance.)
• Use threats of media attention and lawsuits as a last-ditch pressure tactic. It’s a blunt object and burns up budding relationships with officials. In general, pressure tactics yield less flexible and nuanced outcomes than do positive relationships and working together with elected officials.
• However, blunt tactics may be more effective when you want something stopped — for when you really need them to vote “no,” as opposed to seeking more nuanced policy shifts (for example, encouraging them to add more inclusive, anti-racism policies for a school district). For more details on how to influence policy, see the famous Indivisible Guide.
• Do invite the local press if you think there’s a likelihood of bad-faith decision making. Their presence will keep officials on their best behavior. Remember: Public meetings are recorded, and you can request those recordings to release to the press.

Consider running for office yourself

Start local with quiet, powerful changes that will make a felt difference for people that you love. Good local governance builds community, and that’s what America most desperately needs. You can be one of the many good politicians who do not make headlines — like John Gioia, my local Contra Costa County Supervisor, who leads to serve.

As for my friend who declined the school board offer from her church? She did run 20 years later, when her life and politics had radically changed. Her presence and personality tipped the balance and transformed the district and school experience for the staff and thousands of children and families.

Resources to help you run

• Advice and support from Democrats Run for Office
• Emily’s List supports pro-choice Democratic women.
• RunForSomething.org supports young progressive candidates.
• runforoffice.org lists offices by address