Perspectives

Who do you support?

Bea Lanzi
Posted 3/19/14

I find that some of my best political conversations occur at the gym. Yes, at the gym. If you read my column, you understand I have a real love for good café mocha; so as you might guess, I have to …

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Perspectives

Who do you support?

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I find that some of my best political conversations occur at the gym. Yes, at the gym. If you read my column, you understand I have a real love for good café mocha; so as you might guess, I have to spend a good amount of time at the gym. While there, I tend to run into people who want to talk politics. And, I find that I get some of my best insight during these discussions.

The other day I was talking to a gym pal about the upcoming elections and we were discussing some of the candidates. After I named several candidates for different statewide offices, she admitted that she did not know any of them. And, then, she asked me for my opinion of them.

This is exactly why candidates seek endorsements. Having run in elections for 20 years, and having worked with a number of candidates on the local and state level, I can certainly attest to the fact that endorsements are important to candidates. Candidates seek endorsements from a wide variety of individuals and groups, including community leaders, political leaders, labor and business leaders and unions.

When someone says I endorse this candidate, they are giving their opinion of the candidate. They are giving the candidate their seal of approval, saying to the public that this candidate is someone they like, trust and support. When they do this, they help to instill confidence in the candidate among likeminded individuals.

People are busy. Between work and family obligations, people have little time to get to know the candidates. And if there are many candidates for many races, then it’s even more difficult to really get to know each one and their policies and platform. Of course, there are always television commercials. But with modern technology, many people don’t even watch commercials anymore. And if you do catch a commercial, then after a few, you find they all start to look alike. In a busy election year, there are so many commercials about so many different candidates, it becomes challenging to remember each candidate, the office they are seeking and what they stand for.

That is one reason why an endorsement, from a person or a group we trust, can help. If we truly trust this person or this organization, then we probably share their values, we have common interests and ideas. So, when they say, “This candidate is OK with me, this candidate cares about us,” we have confidence in that opinion. In a tight election, with many candidates, and a busy life, having the good word of someone we trust vouch for the character and ideas of a candidate can help us make a choice.

It’s like getting a reference for a job. We all know that networking is essential in business. Career websites have numerous articles about networking and making contacts in business who can vouch for you. Studies show us that job seekers get leads and job offers from networking. This is because a personal recommendation can make all the difference. Anyone can look good on paper. Most people make sure their resume looks good, highlighting accomplishments. Does anyone ever put negative things on a resume? I have never seen a resume that lists qualities such as procrastinates, difficult to work with, lacking leadership skills. Job seekers accentuate the positive and will usually follow up a positive resume by showing up for an interview looking professional and saying all the right things. And this can create a dilemma. If all the candidates seem qualified and good, what is the distinction between them and which one should get the job?

Well, this is where a personal reference is important. When someone knows the job seeker and gives a positive recommendation, this can make the hiring director confident that they will not have to be changing the computer passwords or door locks and escorting the new hire out anytime soon. This recommendation gives the hiring director the confidence to hire the person.

An endorsement for a political candidate works the same way. Will it make us vote for someone we really don’t like, who comes across as incompetent or without integrity? I think probably not. But if we are unsure, and it is a decision between likeminded candidates who all seem to demonstrate a level of competence and integrity, personal endorsements can make a difference.

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