An answer

Once again, my buddy bwana has written a thoughtful post, this time looking at why people run for office. Entitled “What Makes Them Run?” bwana says:

I don’t know what drives folks to set aside their lives and seek public office.

I can’t speak for the motivations of others but I can tell you why I did it: because I wanted to give something back.

I feel fortunate to have been given the opportunity to become the person I am today. I didn’t do it alone; lots of folks helped along the way. All of them encouraged me to be the best that I could be, and paved the way for me. Along with that came a sense of responsibility: to self, to family, to my fellow man. When the opportunity to run came for the third time, I could no longer say no. It was time.

Time for me to utilize the skills I had honed in the private sector in the public sector. Time for me to step up and represent. Time for me to pave the way for someone else, to be the shoulders on which someone else could stand.

One of the first conversations that I ever had regarding running for office was why was I running. When I gave the answer above, I was told that wasn’t saleable. Part of what is wrong in politics is that too many candidates are doing it for the wrong reasons. They are less concerned about the people they serve than they are about themselves. It is about personal gain, not gain for the whole. I just don’t buy that. If a candidate is not running in order to make things better for the people, I’d just as soon they stay out of the race. It’s not about personal power, it’s about doing the people’s business.

It does take a lot of sacrifice to run for office, much more than most folks can imagine. At the end of the day, though, the opportunity to serve – the chance to make our world a bit better place – was enough of a carrot for me to give it a shot.