Guest Opinion: Reflections on a campaign Guest Opinion: Reflections on a campaign (November 16, 2005)

by Karen Holman

Most who run for local office are not really politicians. They are neighbors, friends, fellow volunteers or work associates usually motivated to run by some concern or vision that seems not to be addressed.

At least that is my experience, and is a fitting description of me and why I ran.

The decision to run is a huge one. Can I truly make a difference? Do I have the time? How committed am I? Do I have a base of support? Can I raise the necessary funds? Can I pull together a committee?

Am I prepared to go through the rigors of a campaign? Am I willing to lose a considerable amount of my privacy? Am I willing to win or lose? It is, after all, a very public undertaking.

At my campaign kickoff I used a quote that guided me through the campaign, as it has since I first heard it in 1968. At Bobby Kennedy's funeral, Ted Kennedy quoted from George Bernard Shaw to describe his brother: "Some people see things as they are and say, 'Why?' I see things that never were and say, 'Why not?'"

In preparing for my campaign, I read through Palo Alto ballot statements that go back some 30 years. I discovered the dominant issues have remained the same: quality of life, development, the environment.

We apparently seem to face the same issues without resolving them in long-term, meaningful ways.

Palo Alto is a wonderful town. And I believe we can do much more to make it a better community. I also believe we not only can but must become the visionary leaders we once were in order to be a sound, sustainable community.

As for the campaign, I'm very grateful for the experience. There's the considerable commitment and dedication of volunteers, including people with physical ailments who nonetheless walked precincts. The age of volunteers ranged from 11 to almost 80. Busy people dedicated a lot of time and energy.

I met wonderful people whom I might never have met if not for this campaign. Well-known and less-known people allowed their names to be used in support of the campaign. All this has been both gratifying and humbling.

The campaign has been invigorating, reassuring and reaffirming in that so many share the common concerns and community values that sometimes get lost in our workaday world. I was gratified to meet people who opened their door to a stranger and were willing to listen and ask questions, to become informed about issues that affect them, their neighbors and their city.

Still others opened their homes to hold a campaign coffee for someone they just met but believed in. I encountered people who are so impressed that a candidate actually came to their door. It was at once so touching and almost overwhelming that I was tempted to say, "It's just me." These are the gems that I will treasure.

I heard the plight of those who do not come to public meetings but who are struggling to survive in our increasingly expensive community.

I listened to people express their disappointment and concern at both local and national neglect of the environment. I heard residents' frustrations that they have to drive to Menlo Park, Mountain View, Los Altos and even Redwood City to meet their shopping needs.

Concern about overcrowding in our schools was prominent.

I tried to represent the issues fairly, yet directly. It's easy to be a critic, and I don't underestimate the difficulty in solving some of our problems.

I did my best to see that my campaign was about our community's well-being, leadership, fair and predictable process, the environment -- the things that have made Palo Alto such a great place to live and work. I extend this sincere and public "Thank you" to all who helped get that message out and to the almost-enough voters who supported it. I have learned so much from this campaign.

There is another quotation of which I often think: These words by Henry Clay are embedded in the pavement at the entrance of City Hall: "Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees; and both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people."

Very best wishes to the entire City Council. The public trust is in your care.

Karen Holman is vice chair of the Palo Alto Planning and Transportation Commission, a 30-year resident of Palo Alto, a conservation/land use consultant and is a recovering almost-successful candidate for the Palo Alto City Council in the Nov. 8 elecetion. She can be e-mailed at kcholman@earthlink.net.

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