The big adventure for the family this fall was my run for Palo Alto School Board. At the end of July, I filed the paperwork to run for school board, in part inspired by my frustrations as a parent in the district. I also got to create a campaign account (FPPC ID# 1428980) and then file my personal statement to be mailed to the 60,000+ residents in the district. While I started out not really knowing what to do, I soon learned more and gained a greater appreciation for the election process.
There were a number of interviews, with the local papers, the school papers, and others. Talking to the reporters really helped me to refine my statements and hone in on what I wanted to say and how I wanted to differentiate myself. It also helped us update the campaign website.
One of the things that is special in Palo Alto is the engagement by the community. There were 8 forums/debates held for all of the candidates to answer questions and express their views, and most have the video of the event still online. This gave me a good chance to get to know the other candidates and the areas of interest for the community.
I held a number of zoom meetings (and even had a candidate background) to connect with various groups and hear from the community. During a pandemic, it is hard to connect with the community, but it was fun to try different online forms of connecting. I also had a set of volunteers who hung hangtags around town to spread my name. That, along with about 300 signs, got my name out there.
One of the weekends in October, I attended both local farmer's markets. Liam attended one of them with me, and it was nice to talk with people and hear what they had to say in person.
Liam was a big supporter, and so was his friend Kira. They both would proudly wear my campaign shirt to school and around town.
I found it exciting to see my name in print, as the Attorney/Mother on the ballot, and as someone who was willing to try to make a difference. I think it was also great to get the kids more engaged in the election process in a positive way during a divisive election year.
Overall, I am so happy that I tried to get a seat on the school board. While the election night numbers did not lead to victory, I learned cool things, like over 90% of the ballots in Palo Alto were mail-in, and numbers don't tend to change much as more ballots get counted. Over 11,500 people voted for me and I have more support now than ever if I want to run again.
