On a Saturday morning when plenty of people were sleeping in, a few dozen aspiring politicians gathered in a Placer County Elections Office training room to confront a hard truth facing candidates.
Democracy, it turns out, involves a lot of paperwork.
The July 18 candidate workshop, held in person in Rocklin and over Zoom ahead of the Nov. 3 General Election, is something of a local institution. Ryan Ronco, the county's clerk-recorder and registrar of voters, said the elections office has hosted the sessions for more than 30 years.
"We've been trying to demystify the process of running for office for quite some time," Ronco said.
The workshops are held before each major election and are especially popular with first-time candidates. The three-hour session was split into two halves. The first featured guest speakers who have seen campaigns from every angle. The second was devoted to the less glamorous side of seeking office: the state-mandated forms, filing deadlines and financial disclosures that can trip up a candidacy before it starts, covered page by page with elections staff on hand to answer questions.
About half the room appeared to be first-timers. The other half were more familiar faces: elected officials, campaign volunteers and consultants who came to share their experience, or simply brush up on filing requirements.
Learning from the pros
Placer County Supervisor Bonnie Gore, who has held elected office for 14 years, told attendees that running for office is essentially a very public job interview. Voters need to know who you are, what you want to do and why you’re the right person to do it.
"I think you have to be all in," Gore said. "That means you're going to spend lots of time and energy, and yes, money, to demonstrate to your voters that you want this seat and you're willing to work hard for it."
She told candidates to expect hard work, emotional challenges and a lot of time knocking on doors. She also urged them to stay above the fray of modern political discourse, especially online, and keep their message positive.
Longtime campaign consultant Kirk Uhler, who has run for office himself and advised campaigns from city councils to Congress, delivered a warning. Many candidates do not actually know what the office they’re running for does.
"So many people think they understand what a city council person does, or what a school board member does, or what they actually have authority over," Uhler said. Candidates who promise things outside the office's power, he said, are "setting themselves up for failure and disappointment."
He also cautioned against campaigns built on grievance. Placer County residents generally like where they live, he said, and railing against your city or county tends to land poorly. He also offered a line that surprised some in the room but drew nods from the veterans: yard signs do not win votes. They mostly reassure your volunteers.
Bill Poindexter, editor at Gold Country Media, rounded out the speakers with advice on working with the local press. Candidates should introduce themselves early, send their resumes and get to know the smaller neighborhood publications, not just the big outlets.
Practical points
The paperwork portion answered questions many first-timers may not have thought to ask. How much does filing actually cost? What is a walk piece? What resources can the elections office provide? Staff walked through each form and deadline.
Ronco noted the paperwork is nearly identical across the region, so even candidates running in Sacramento, Yolo or El Dorado counties could benefit from the walkthrough.
For Nora Parella, a Roseville resident and first-time candidate for the Placer County Board of Education Area 1, the workshop delivered. A policy administrator at the California Department of Education, she decided to run about six weeks ago, drawn to the seat as the mother of a 3-year-old who will soon enter local schools.
"The schools here are really excellent," Parella said, adding that she wants to help continue that tradition.
She said she left feeling more prepared. Her advice for anyone still on the fence about running?
"It's always going to be scary, and so just go for it."
There’s a clock on Parella’s advice. The candidate filing period for the November election opened July 13 and closes Aug. 7. Anyone who missed the session is not out of luck. The elections office plans to post a recording online, joining an archive of past workshops on the county's website.
As for whether Gore, who ran unopposed in June, worries she just handed a playbook to a future opponent, she was unbothered. Knowing how to run, she suggested, is not the same as running well.
“You actually have to execute it, and you have to do it well,” Gore said. "Just because you know how to do it doesn't mean you will be successful.
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