Not Running This Time

I have decided not to throw my hat into the local elections this autumn. If you missed my prior post I had serious thoughts about running for a position on the Peel District School Board. There are a number of big issues confronting public education that I know will require thoughtful people to lead discussion on. Especially now with Premier Ford's government in place school boards will have to be passionate advocates for education.

Ultimately though, standing for election is not something you can do lightly. I considered this at points to be an effort to merely get some ideas out there an into the public debate. However, I would remain the avatar of those ideas. I would rightly be held accountable for my ideas and positions, and for various other aspects that I am not entirely comfortable with.

I think a lot of people will talk about why they are running, so I thought it might be worthwhile for someone to share the considerations about why they are not running.

One of the big reasons I am not running this time around is my nervousness about public scrutiny. By scrutiny I don't mean things like criticism of my ideas and platform, I mean personal ones. At thirty years old I've spend about half of my life on the internet. This blog is eight years old and reflects hundreds of thoughts and opinions and I have a Twitter account that had definitely embarrassing things if I was ever confronted with them. I don't mean anything serious, just things that would make me cringe. The idea of people picking through photos or other things that are more private, though still public on the internet, is unsettling.

A big consideration is my employment. I work in the education sector. It could be seen as a conflict, or at least problematic for me to run for school board. My employers have been very kind to me so I do not wish to dismiss their considerations so easily.

Finally, it's all personal. As much as I want to try and put my name forward and fight for ideas I care about I fear I'm not ready yet. My personal and professional situation is not at the place I want it to be. I don't believe I would have the support necessary or desired to make this sort of effort. I sincerely hope that I don't feel this way always and the next time around I feel differently, but at the moment when I look at the prospect of standing for election, it just feels like the wrong time for me.

Dozens of factors weigh in for a person considering this. I have to imagine for every person who runs there are a dozen who seriously considered it but their circumstance or the moment just wasn't right. I hope to personally be in a better one, or if I'm not, I hope to be braver then.

July 27th is the last day to register as a candidate, so get out there!