The Campaign

It’s the first of September in an election year.  That means that campaigns have begun, not only for President, but for Mayor of Marina as well. I thought I would give you a little insight into the process and what it’s like to be a candidate.

There are many places to be, places to speak, places to talk to people and to hear what you the voter have on your mind. These are important opportunities to understand your concerns and what you want to see for our City. Of course, part of this process also includes walking your neighborhood, knocking on your door and talking to you. If you would like me to attend your meeting or an event please let me know by e-mail (emersonformarina@gmail.com) or phone (595-6282).

There is also the planning and design of campaign materials. This means translating my thoughts and desires for Marina in a way that the voter can understand who I am and what I stand for. It’s an interesting challenge but as a whole this Marina Matters column has helped to define these positions for the voters. The decision to produce our own newspaper evolved from this column and is chocked full of detail that goes beyond the typical campaign sound bites and slogans. Let me know if you have not seen one yet and we will do our best to get one to you.

Another aspect of the campaign that you may not think about is the endless questionnaires and endorsement meetings with various newspapers, interest groups and organizations. These are great opportunities for a candidate to communicate ideas but you wonder just how many of them have made up their minds long before the candidates arrive to answer their questions. Time will tell if that is in fact the case.

Of course, this past Saturday was the Labor Day Parade. This was the first real event of the campaign where you could meet and greet the candidates after the parade. I was honored to have the opportunity to ride “Star” a beautiful white Percheron horse down the parade route to lots of great cheers and support. She was a favorite of everyone young and old. Afterwards we met many of you at our booth and I was amazed at how many of you asked for a lawn sign for your homes. We also registered people to vote and were grateful for your support.

Next up for us will be the Marina in Motion debate this Saturday, Sept. 8^th. Here the candidates for Mayor and City Council have their opportunity to debate each other, to explain their thoughts and to defend their records. It promises to be an interesting hour and a half. I hope you have the chance to watch it either live or on ‘video on demand’ before the election.

The bottom line is that I am proud of the campaign so far. We have a positive message for the future of Marina that resonates throughout our community. It’s clear that many of you want to see a positive common sense approach to the management of our City going forward. I hope to earn your support and VOTE in November.

More later...