To Heed The Call

     Term limits are about to bring many a long political career to an end in Florida, which got me thinking: What would a classified ad for potential candidates look like?

Wanted: Candidate for office; male or female — young enough to enjoy intrigue, old enough to exhibit wisdom. Full-time-plus position; part-time pay; requires person to surrender all privacy and spend many hours away from family, jobs, and friends. Applicant must be able to jump through hoops, eradicate red tape, and make something from nothing; ready to be loved by some and despised by others; able to find humor in all situations, including mud-slinging headlines; must be willing to toil through long hours of campaigning; otherwise, do not apply.

     It kind of makes you wonder why anyone would ever run for office. That’s why "help wanted" ads are of no use in candidate recruitment. Instead, it’s a task best done on a one-on-one, district-by-district, need-by-need basis. Term limits will certainly demand a steady supply of good pro-business candidates. And that’s where you can help, even if you don’t want to run for office yourself.

     There are some people the voters hold to a higher standard: It’s usually everybody but themselves, but preachers and politicians are certainly the two groups most subject to unforgiving scrutiny.

     So it stands to reason that one of the first things to consider in recruiting someone to run for office is his character, civic involvement, and the public’s perception of him.

* Is he well known in the community? Why?

* Is he well liked by most?

* Is he involved in the community? How?

* How long has he been involved?

     Because so much of the person’s private life becomes public, and so much time is taken away from the family, it is important that the entire family be made aware of this and that the family is overwhelmingly supportive of the candidacy.

     Next, you really need to assess the person’s commitment to the campaign.

* Can he raise money?

* Is he willing to ask people for money?

* Is he willing to be at a breakfast at 7 a.m., a radio talk show until 11:30 a.m., a luncheon at noon, an editorial-board interview at 2:00 p.m., to walk the precinct until 7:00 p.m., and then debate his opponent at 8:00 p.m.?

     This is just the beginning. But the demand for quality candidates is here. You might know just the right person. He does not have to be someone who has held elective office before. He might the coach of the Little League team, the friendly banker or barber, or someone who works with you.

     The point is that the best place to find pro-business candidates is within the business community.

     You have an idea of someone? Call us. We’ve researched each district to identify what type of person can win there. We’ll do the legwork. And we’ll find the answers to the hard questions that have to be answered about each candidate.

     Look around you. Who knows? You may be sitting next to the future president of the Florida Senate.