We began our candidate interviews this week on Bill Mick LIVE. We’re covering two County Commission, three School Board and two Florida House district contests. In total we have invited twenty candidates to appear to discuss their candidacies and the role they see for themselves should they be elected. I do not invite write-in candidates, even in the general election.
As of this writing, nine of the candidates will not appear on the show. Campaign ads can be expensive. Earned media is relished by the experienced candidate or elected official.Interviews like these and forums such as those hosted by Florida Today only require a candidate’s time and no cost is incurred. Yet, nearly half of the opportunities afforded will not be accepted by the candidates. Only one has declined the opportunity because of a prior commitment.
What about the others? Crickets.
Some had no response to the email invitation.It had gone to the address each provided on the Supervisor of Elections website. The House candidates had only listed telephone numbers to contact them.I left messages for those who did not answer the phone (three of the four). One has returned the call and, like the one I spoke to directly, agreed to appear.
I found it odd that two County Commission candidates in District 4 had no contact information available on the SOE website.All of the other commission candidates had information readily available. For cases such as these I post the invitation and schedule on my website and announce on my show where it may be found. Still, there is no word from these two candidates. One has to wonder just how seriously their campaigns should be taken.
That leaves six candidates who don’t monitor their email, don’t respond to it or don’t care about a no cost opportunity to reach voters who, if I judge my audience correctly, are members of the engaged electorate. In other words, they will vote. Seasoned candidates will not miss such an opportunity.
If a candidate is unresponsive while campaigning is it likely they’ll be attentive when in office? It’s hard to think so. Are they new? Not all of them. Do they not understand campaigning? That’s possible. Are they arrogant? Maybe so.Or, maybe, just maybe, we have run out of dedicated, quality candidates that are willing to serve.
Who can blame them? Our political environment is toxic. Campaign attacks and lies tend to be the rule of the day.Character assassination is common.Who wants to subject their family to that?
The ideal candidate is one who understands these positions are about service to our community. I wonder how many of these candidates truly understand this. My hope is that our interviews and forums will help us find out.
Each viable candidate (and maybe some who aren’t) has the opportunity to appear. The call is theirs. They can appear and reach our audience if they so choose. If they do not, maybe that tells us something as well. We’ll see what they have to say and then the ball is in the voters’ court.
I sometime get the feeling that those entering the political arena think it’s like driving. They can drive, therefore they should be on the pole at Daytona. Politics is a game that must be learned. Three is a science to winning at it and to communicating the message. Given what I have seen in recent years, I wonder if someone hasn’t drained the talent pool.