VOICES Matt Gianquinto: Maybe that Candidate is YOU
Early next year DTC membership for the 2020-2021 term will be determined in our towns. Not long after, we’ll start the processes to decide who will be our standard bearers next fall. If recent success in towns around the 8th District tell us anything, it’s that voters will respond to the stories new candidates have to tell. Maybe that story is yours. Perhaps that candidate is you.
Never run for anything before? Consider this:
Two years ago in Simsbury, Democrats endorsed a newcomer to town and relative unknown for First Selectman. Up against a well-known member of the Board of Selectman, our candidate planned a disciplined effort, worked the plan, and won. Two weeks ago Eric Wellman was fortunate to earn reelection by a wide margin.
In 2018, Wendy Mackstutis got involved in local politics for the first time while helping her friend Mary Glassman run for Congress. A year later, Wendy had earned a spot on the Simsbury Democratic ticket for the Board of Selectmen, and soon she’ll be sworn in as part of our new Board.
I use these examples because I was close to them, but with two more cycles behind us Simsbury is hardly an outlier.
Avon’s next Town Council will include not one but two Democrats who this year ran for the first time in Dan Polhamus and Anthony Weber. First time Canton candidate Katie Kenney won her race for Board of Finance, and newcomer Katie Lukas came within 10 votes of joining the Board of Selectman. In 2018 Democrats came within just 100 votes of winning the 17th House District seat behind first-time candidate Eleni Kavros DeGraw.
There’s a lot that has to go right in order to win any race, plenty of hurdles to overcome. But particularly for state legislative races, potential candidates shouldn’t be off put by the traditional barriers to running for office, artifices left crumbling behind us years ago.
The Citizens Election Program has created an even playing field against incumbents that would otherwise have a tremendous financial advantage. Democrats in our districts are fully capable of getting our candidates across qualifying thresholds. With a couple of cycles under their belts, a number of Democratic Town Committees in our districts now command the kind of field game required to deliver a message and give our candidates the support they need to be competitive.
Looking back to 2018, Democrats across the 8th district put up their best fight in years, including a full slate of fully-funded candidates for each legislative race. Sure, the cycle was anchored by some strong incumbents, but they were joined in the fight by terrific first-time candidates that generated new energy, attracted new volunteers, and set high-water marks for performance by Democrats in their districts. We know them now, but we didn’t know them at this time in 2017.
If you’re interested in running for office this year, please reach out to your local DTC Chair.
Matt Gianquinto is a member of the Simsbury Democratic Town Committee and serves as Democratic State Central Committeeman for the 8th District.