Running for political office is something that has been, for a number of years, on my bucket list. A visit to our nation’s capital this past fall, to celebrate and accept a Blue Ribbon Award on behalf of my colleagues and our students at Bursley Elementary, solidified my desire to get involved in government at some level. Being a voice for the members of our great community is something I want to do with my life.
Running at this point in my personal and professional life was not a decision that I made haphazardly or that I took lightly. I live by pro/con lists. I endlessly bounce ideas off my husband, parents, friends and family before making decisions or commitments. I have two young children at home and a full-time career that I love, but I also have a set of skills that I feel called to offer to voters in our community for consideration as they choose new leadership. This election
-- with today’s issues and today’s candidates -- is calling me to serve.
I have a social studies teacher’s heart and a borderline obsession with political dramas. I thought I was ready for the challenge of a local political campaign. Aaron Sorkin makes it look manageable, and his shows are always about the federal government. So, running at the local level should be easy and mess-free, right?
Wrong.
My most startling discovery along the running-for-local-office learning curve has been that local government -- representing your neighbors on a seven-member board and making decisions about libraries, parks, sidewalks, utilities, land, businesses and how local tax money is spent -- is partisan politics. Democrat, Republican or Independent.
You must pick one, and then brace yourself for people to pass judgement on your choice. Crazy.
Since the judgement passing has begun (in the form of a Letter to the Editor of the Advance Newspapers by John Schwalm, current Georgetown Township Trustee who is seeking re-election), I’d like to take a minute to provide some perspective on Mr. Schwalm’s claims and outline the details of my political party affiliation.
I have been teaching fifth and sixth graders about our country’s two major political parties for the last decade, and have worked hard to remain as politically neutral in my classroom as possible. The message I have consistently told my (too young to vote) students is that the majority of grown-ups choose the candidate who most closely aligns with their beliefs on the issues that they feel are most important. People -- political candidates and voters alike -- don’t fit perfectly into columns or categories. We are not red or blue, right or left, conservative or liberal, elephant or donkey. Politics and personal opinions are messy and diverse. Everyone falls somewhere on a broad spectrum, and that is what makes this a great nation.
Mr. Schwalm has referred to me as a “registered Democrat voter”. You know what that means? In the most recent primary election, when I exercised my right to vote and walked into my local polling place, I pulled a Democrat ballot rather than a Republican one. That’s all it takes to be a registered Democrat. Mr. Schwalm wants the conservative members of this community to jump to the conclusion that I am an ultra-liberal who believes in abortion, big government, high taxes and strict gun control. This could not be further from the truth.
Here is the truth: I vote for people. People get my vote based on the strength of their character, on how closely their perspectives align with mine on (what I deem to be) key issues, and on their vision for our township, state or nation.
People do not get my vote just for aligning themselves with a particular political party, and I do not vote to align myself with one either.
Did I vote for a Democrat in the recent Michigan primary? Yes. And I went to the Bernie Sanders rally at GVSU in early March to learn more about him, too; I’m confident that Michael Bosch or one of the incumbents is already searching social media trying to find my #selfiewithBernie photo to bring to voters’ attention days before the August 2 primary.
The reason a Democrat got my one vote in March goes back to the message I consistently try to impress upon my students: their beliefs most closely aligned with mine on the national-level issue that I feel is most important.
You see, my life’s work is education. Trump -- who is the clear Republican frontrunner now, but also was the frontrunner going into Michigan’s primary -- is reluctant to say anything about education. His few soundbytes include that we invest too much in education and the results are poor. This is his entire perspective on my life’s work. How does that earn my vote? Meanwhile, the Democrats commit themselves to raising the quality, affordability and equity of public education. On this isolated issue, they speak my to my teacher and mother’s heart. So, with one vote to cast and a Republican or Democrat ballot to pull, the Democrats got my vote.
Township Trustees will never be faced with the same set issues as presidential or gubernatorial candidates. Abortion, gun control, education financing or policy reform, labor unions, universal health care, and most social issues are matters for the state and federal officials. Using my voting record in presidential primaries to call into question my reputation as a candidate for local office is absurd.
When asked to declare my party affiliation when running for office, I focused on the issues that will fall under my purview as Township Trustee. I believe in limited government and fiscally conservative, sensible spending. I am a Republican in more than “name only,” and I would appreciate your vote in the Republican primary on August 2.
Steele for Georgetown Township Trustee
Informed Decision Maker | Servant Leader