Candidate Sign-Up Is Under Way for 2017 Local Elections
- Editor’s Note: This article is the second of a series containing information published in the Kane County Clerk’s Office’s 2017 Local Elections Guide, which includes text prepared by the Citizen Participation Institute to educate potential candidates, students and the general public about the importance of elected local offices in Illinois.
- Candidate sign-up in Kane County starts Sept. 20 and runs through Dec. 19, 2016, for local-government offices, but the sign-up time in Aurora, Elgin and some villages is limited to Nov. 21 to Nov. 28, 2016, according to the 2017 Local Elections Guide.
While the November election gets all of our attention and headlines these days, now is the time for potential candidates to start thinking about the consolidated election that will be held Tuesday, April 4, 2017.
In fact, today (Sept. 20, 2016) is the first day to circulate nominating petitions for School Board and many other important elected offices in Kane County, IL. Nominating petitions must be filed with the Kane County Clerk’s Office during the week of Dec. 12 through Dec. 19, and while that might seem like a long time from now, it’s not.
The Kane County Clerk’s Office is encouraging participation by posting its 2017 Local Elections Guide on the kanecountyelections.org website. The guide is worthy of attention right now, because of a growing candidate shortage in local elections.
What’s a Candidate Shortage?
What’s a candidate shortage, and why should we care? According to the Citizen Participation Institute, the answer to that question is simple: Two-thirds of the time in Illinois local elections, voters have few real choices because there is only one candidate running for that office.
“The concept that voters elect our officials is turning into a myth,” the institute says in the 2017 Local Elections Guide.
Why Is That?
Most citizens are not usually aware of what offices are elected or when. The deadlines to sign up as a candidate are so far ahead of the election that, before most folks think about running, the window has slammed shut. There are more elected local offices than civic-minded potential candidates to go around.
Could I Be a Candidate for Local Office?
There are probably a dozen elected seats on the April 2017 ballot you could run for. Most meet for one or two evenings per month. The 2017 Local Elections Guide describes them, and tells you how to become a candidate. It is surprisingly easy. You do need to be a registered voter and live in the jurisdiction you are running for, usually for a year before the election.
What Elected Offices Can I Run for Now?
Many of those who affect your property taxes. In Kane County, they include but are not limited to alderman or village trustee, village president or mayor, city or village clerk, school board member, park district trustee or president, township trustee, township assessor, township clerk, township supervisor, library trustee, and many more. See the 2017 Local Elections Guide for details.
Theses are the elected positions that see that fires are put out, crooks are put in, schoolhouses are put up, roads are put down, snow is put aside, parks are put around, garbage is put elsewhere, libraries are opened and nuisances are closed. Their term of office is usually four or six years.
Should I Be a Candidate?
Do you have good judgment, honesty, maturity and willingness to serve? Are you unafraid to stand out from the crowd, and willing to do your homework before the meetings? Will you challenge mission creep and empire-building by always satisfying yourself that any proposed program expansion is really to fill a true need?
Also, you should be running for the right reason: a genuine interest in seeing that the unit of government operates efficiently. If you are thinking of running because of some pay, prestige or benefit to you or your friends or family, then you shouldn’t run.
Does My Political Party Matter?
No. Candidates for local offices are generally not legally allowed to run as Republicans or Democrats. They must run as “independents.”
The 2017 Local Elections Guide deals with only how to run as an independent, not as a party, candidate.
Isn’t Campaigning an Expensive Chore?
Usually not, not for these offices. There is a lot of hoop-la over those partisan offices that are elected in November, where the winners get full-time employment. But these offices elected in April are about service, not employment, and seldom pay anything at all except for the satisfaction of serving the community.
How Do I Sign Up to Become a Candidate?
As a start, look at the list of available offices shown in the 2017 Local Elections Guide and pick something you are interested in. You can download the forms you need to file as a candidate, already filled in for you, from our website www.Candidates–Wanted.info. You can also obtain blank ones from the County Clerk’s Office. But time is short. You need to gather a few signatures from some neighbors and file your paperwork for the April 4, 2017, election before Christmas, or even before Thanksgiving!
Who Can I talk to About Running?
You can contact the Citizen Participation Institute by emailing Director@CitizenParticiapation.org or calling 331-888-2814. You can also visit the Kane County Clerk’s Office website for more information about becoming a candidate.
The Citizen Participation Institute does not run or manage campaigns, nor does it support or oppose any candidate for public office. It is a nonpartisan resource specializing in open government.
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