The idea is to vote for the best candidates so that in the end we have a serious candidate who can win come November for each open race. We as delegates want to support candidates who will support the party platform to the best of their abilities. We want to support candidates who show leadership qualities and values that will appeal to the democratic general voters. Skills and qualifications are a must for our future candidates.
I have always had my own personal misgivings about this process because it limits the number of candidates to those who can win the support of 20% of the elected delegates otherwise they have to go out and get more signatures in order to get on the ballot for the primary. The delegates that will vote to put the candidates on the primary ballot are elected by active voters who show up for the ward meetings and support the people who are running for to be delegates.
So why become a delegate if you have misgivings about the process, well I can see the other side of this augment because I have run into candidates who are just far to unfit to be elected to any office. So I can see where this process will produce strong fit candidates who represent the best our party has to offer the voting public. We have to have a way to weed out unfit candidates who could damage our state if by some fluke they got elected to a public office. There has to be more to a candidate then just a charming face and the fact that they are a good talker if we are to protect the voters and their families of this state.
Delegates spend long hours educating themselves on every little detail of many candidates so as to determine which candidates would do the best job for the voting public. This process takes a great deal of time and you have to be willing to speak to many individuals in order to get a broad view. I can tell you that this is a lot of work for no pay but you do get to attend parties and meet some of the finest representatives our state has to offer along with a few nutcases.
So as a delegate what do you look for in a candidate?
- Honesty
- Integrity
- Candor
- Sincerity
- Intelligences
- Vision
- People Skills
- An ability to work with diverse groups
- A stable home life
- Caring positive relationships with close family and friends
- A positive desire to work for the voters in this state
- A clear understanding of financial matters
- A willingness to be a public servant
- A good speaking voice
- An ability to work long hard hours with little to no sleep
- Some knowledge of the job and a vision for how to achieve goals that match those of the party and the voting public which except for a rare occasion should be the same
- A sense of humor and an ability to handle personal attacks
- An ability to talk total strangers out of large sums of money during short phone calls
- A willingness to shake hands endlessly and spend endless amounts of time talking to future constituents
- A willingness to travel endlessly across the state/country
