Anyone thinking about becoming a candidate for election to public office needs to answer the question: What’s the worst thing someone’s going to say about you?

Unless of course you are a certain 2024 presidential candidate, now under multiple indictments, and who was found liable for sexually abusing a woman in a luxury department store dressing room.

Local candidates however, running for election to local State Legislative and County Council seats, must indeed answer the question.

Much of the criticism will be personal. You talk too much. You’re too “full of yourself”. Another common and sometimes painful dig is “You’re not from here”.

Next in line will be those times you got way behind paying your rent, electric, water, or the yard guy. Or 30 years ago you perhaps got behind in your taxes (raising my hand here). Some of you have had messy divorces and/or bankruptcies to deal with. I’ve come to believe that everyone has something in their closet they might not be the most proud of.

Most of the above is relatively inconsequential – so long as it’s history and the lessons were learned.

However, some of the bad stuff people say about you will be…well bad. Perhaps it’s an old DUI (or two), or you were arrested some years ago for a “youthful indiscretion” – drug use, shoplifting, or trespassing. Maybe once you had a tad too much to drink – someone pushed you, you pushed them back, the police were called, you pushed the police…you went to jail.

Stuff happens. Humans are imperfect and candidates are human. So long as you’ve learned the lessons none of this should prevent you from being elected to public office. Most people believe in redemption and are willing to forgive and forget the past IF the candidate has proven through their more recent life choices they have indeed changed their ways.

The two key words here are “past” and “redemption”. There’s no statute of limitations that make negative political impacts of bad choices go away, but obviously the further in the past the better. The redemption must be genuine, the candidate must acknowledge the error of their ways, and have stopped completely the activity that drove the bad choices (often drugs and alcohol).

For State legislative and County Council races, negative “hit pieces” focusing on a candidates past are relatively rare. At this level of politics, the “hits” are more likely to come in the form of “whisper campaigns” not as direct mailers or paid advertisements.

However, for those at the top of the political food chain, Mayor, Governor, and Congress – all bets are off. You could be a veritable angel of a candidate (thought I’ve never actually seen one), and the opposition will just make stuff up, pour money on it, and bury you with it.

But again, this kind of negative campaigning historically only happens on the big money races that threaten directly big money interests.

Candidates must first and foremost do “opposition research” – on themselves. They must anticipate what the forthcoming hits might look like, and “inoculate” those closest to the campaign and ultimately the voters in the community.

30 years ago my small Kauaʻi publishing company fell way behind in its taxes. The tax office “waived” penalties and interest and offered a payment plan allowing us to repay 100% of the taxes owed – which we did.

Now when someone says “Gary didn’t pay his taxes”, you know that Gary did actually pay his taxes. He paid them late, but he paid them. Like lots of small businesses just starting out, Gary struggled, Gary got behind, but Gary persevered and caught up, built a successful business, and paid 100% of his taxes.

Inoculation is complete. You now know and are prepared to respond should anyone say to you, “I heard Gary didn’t pay his taxes.”

As a candidate (which I am not), your closest supporters especially must not be taken by surprise when someone brings up negative stuff.

The formula again: Anticipate, fess up, and inoculate.

Yes I did it, I learned from it, I fixed it, and it all happened a long time ago.

Read also:

Campaign 101 – What makes someone a good candidate for public office? Purple Mohawks Need Not Apply

Campaigning 101 #1 – 2024 candidates – first steps

Campaigning 101 #2 The sometimes not so obvious basics

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