Candidate assessments

There are two complaints about local elections that are equally valid. Volunteer leaders complain that not enough good people run for office and, when they do, the voters don't elect them. And elected officials complain that volunteer leaders rarely notice their accomplishments and, as a result, don't support them for re-election.

Is there a way to answer both criticisms while improving the quality of elected leadership in your community? There is, if you're willing to be systematic about assessing candidates for office and transparent and fair about how you do it.

At Civic Strategies, we've assisted several community non-partisan organizations in establishing systematic candidate assessment processes. There are four steps in our work:

• We help the organizations establish their process and identity. (Most of the groups we work with are coalitions of civic and business organizations.)
• We help them identify the most critical issues facing the community and frame the issues as fair, open-ended questions for candidates.
• We train volunteers in interviewing and rating candidates objectively.
• We help the organizations establish web sites and produce printed guides with the results.
  

What emerges is a voter education process unlike any you've seen, with focused, positive, fair-minded candidate evaluations that are easy for voters to understand and use. Good candidates get what they want: recognition for their thoughtful and principled positions and support from community leaders. Volunteer leaders get a voter education process that encourages good people to run for office and holds elected officials accountable. The voters get a way of telling the good candidates from the bad—and a much better grasp of local issues.

Want to learn how we can work with your organization in creating a fair and systematic process of candidate assement? Contact us.