The Call For Public Service

Submitted by Erin.Esposito [1] on Mon, 06/29/2009 - 14:41

Tip O’Neill, Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, lost the first race he ever ran – for the Cambridge City Council – by 160 votes because he took his neighborhood for granted. His father pulled him aside after the election and told him, “All politics is local. Don’t forget it.” He never did and eventually rose to become Speaker of the House.

Kevin Nolan, years later, would ironically, without having yet met O’Neill, heed to the wise mantra of “all politics is local” when he ran for the Northampton City Council against a 20-year incumbent and won by 7 votes. Nolan was the first Deaf person to become an elected official in the United States and by all accounts, a trailblazer.

Bruce White ran for City Council, almost two decades after Nolan’s election, in College Park, Maryland and won.

Kelby Brick made two attempts to run for public office in Maryland’s Greenbelt City Council and has come closer and closer with each run he has made thus far. I am confident that one day Brick will eventually win, for perseverance is an important and extremely admirable quality for a person to have – one that he, undoubtedly, possesses. After all, we know the story of Abraham Lincoln and his numerous attempts to run for public service only to be defeated countless times before going on to become one of the best Presidents of the United States of America. With that said, I urge us all to chant: “Run, Kelby, Run!!” J

In his book “Politicking: How to get elected, take action, and make an impact in your community,” Bill Rausch provides some tips for those who are interested in running for public office:

• Americans like their representatives to be tough fighters.
• The best way to get ready for your first campaign is by getting something done before you run. Getting something done requires working with others. This is where your political supporters will come from.
• You cannot win alone. And the friends you choose to help you win will be your friends for a long time, so choose them carefully.
• Whether it is in business, at church, at the country club, or in government, we all build networks. These networks often begin in our school years. A well-rounded and reasonably ambitious adult should have, by the time they are in their thirties, a network that includes people in virtually every sector of life. These are the friends we pick, and they are important to us.
• Knowing lots of people and being able to work with them is, after all, what politicians are famous for.
• Campaigns test the integrity of candidates, and elected officials must resist constant pressure to say one thing to one group and another to another. Campaigns test discretion, and public service requires discretion. Campaigns test resilience, and public service requires resilience.

Kevin Nolan certainly embraced the central theme behind Robert Frost’s famous poem and took the road less traveled by paving the way for us to pursue participation in public service. As the torch passed from Nolan to White - one generation to the next - one can’t help but wonder who our next Kevin Nolan and Bruce White will be. Will it be you?