Have you ever thought of running for office but didn’t want to run because of how politicians are treated (or treat each other) or because of how your personal life (or finances) would be scrutinized?

I just read an interview with Kirsten Gillibrand (44) who is New York’s junior Senator. She is a lawyer turned politician. There was a scary statistic cited that indicated that the number of women in Congress DROPPED for the first time in 30 years. Whatever the reason for this stat, this is NOT GOOD! She cautioned that we don’t want to wake up in 10 years and find that we don’t like how things are being run (without women’s participation), because we opted out.

Kirsten gave three really useful tips for those interested in getting involved in politics and running for office. I have added a couple of other tips to this list.

1. Passion. Run for the office that you are most passionate about. If you love education, run for the school board. I am on the board of my kids’ school and can attest to this first tip wholeheartedly. Your passion will show through and carry you through when things get tough! Check your county election office for offices that are open to you. Some offices require a petition of 25 signatures to qualify to run for that particular office.
2. Training Camp. Why should preparing to run for office be any different than training for a marathon when an election can certainly feel like you are running a marathon – you HAVE to train for it. Learn what’s required for success when running for office (hint: it’s not just votes). Kirsten Gillibrand said she went to three campaign training schools: Women’s Campaign School at Yale, Women’s Campaign Forum Training School, and Eleanor Roosevelt Legacy Campaign School. This kind of training can give you a huge head start in your campaign planning and execution.
3. Eye Wide Open. Kirsten said you need to know what you are getting into and she suggested that the best way to do this was to work on someone else’s campaign. She worked on several for HIllary (Senate campaigns) and Bill Clinton (Presidential campaign). I have worked on a few campaigns, but probably not enough or extensively enough to give me the kind of training Kirsten received/earned.
4. Clarity. Be clear about why you are running and for what purpose. If you have campaign issues or promises to tout, then be clear and consistent about them. There is nothing worse than flip-floppers on issues. Yes, people should be able to change their minds on an issue but don’t say one thing to pander to a few people during the election and then once in office change your mind for seemingly no reason (other than you hadn’t thought it through). It’s probably best to say you don’t have an opinion on that issue yet and you look forward to learning more about it.
5. Fundraise. This tip should go without saying, but it is probably one of the most important things you can do for your campaign. Don’t be afraid to ask for support (monetary or otherwise). If you never ask, you will never get a yes. The worst that can happen when you do ask is that someone says no. I was always surprised – by the people who supported me and by the amount of support. People were always more generous than I expected and people who I thought weren’t interested in supporting a campaign, turned out to be ardent supporters.