'Run for Office'? How to file for and seek one of America's 23,501 elected offices



less Running for office: Here, four candidates for Seattle City Council District 4, Jean Godden, Rob Johnson, Michael Maddux and Tony Provine, faced off last year. A new guide called Running for Office provides tips, training, even on-line courses for those who would put their toe in the water or hat in the ring. Running for office: Here, four candidates for Seattle City Council District 4, Jean Godden, Rob Johnson, Michael Maddux and Tony Provine, faced off last year. A new guide called Running for Office ... more Photo: JOSHUA TRUJILLO, SEATTLEPI.COM Photo: JOSHUA TRUJILLO, SEATTLEPI.COM Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close 'Run for Office'? How to file for and seek one of America's 23,501 elected offices 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Citizens across Canada quickly dispensed with duties of citizenship on Oct. 19, 2015, voting in their ridings (districts) for members of the House of Commons and bringing to power the Liberal Party of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

They now look south to "the States" and see U.S. citizens faced with a multiplicity of decisions.

Americans will be voting for president, governors, senators, representatives, state legislatures, a bevy of statewide offices and dozens of judicial positions. States with populist traditions, such as Washington, will see initiatives and referendums on the ballot.

At other times of the year, we elect school board members, water commissioners, hospital directors and port commissioners.

A new online platform and database, called "Run for Office," lists no fewer than 23,501 elected offices across the United States.

If you don't believe the number, check them out at https://www.runforoffice.org

Very few Americans -- just 2 percent of us -- ever take the plunge and seek public office.

Look, for instance, at the Washington Legislature, where Democratic bastions in Seattle go uncontested by Republicans, while seats in Eastern Washington feature competition only between and among Republicans.

"Run for Office," which became available this week in King County, offers an online course in how to seek public office, listing every job up for a vote, as well as filing requirements and even instant training in the office you seek.

(If you get elected to Congress, of course, the training takes on a more sophisticated venue -- the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.)

"Run for Office" even offers a free voter file for the district in which you run. The service is nonpartisan, a byproduct of a wider guide called NationBuilder.

NationBuilder offers software on winning elections as well as such tasks as running for office, serving constituents and raising money for causes.

Running for office is not as easy as it used to be.

In Washington, contested legislative races cost in the six figures. A contested U.S. House race can run in the range of $2 million to $5 million. U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, as a "mom in tennis shoes," spent just $1.2 million to win her seat in 1992; she has already raised more than $10 million in the current election cycle.

Endorsements must be sought. Hours must be spent "dialing for dollars." Consultants will provide lists of "targeted" voters. They will also charge handsomely to put out direct mailings that most voters discard.

Yet understanding the place you want to represent, plus retail door-to-door campaigning, remains vital to the process.

U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, won seats in the state Senate and Congress thanks to ringing thousands of south King County doorbells.

The candidates to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott are threading their way through meetings of district Democrats, community festivals, farmers markets and gatherings of a multiplicity of ethnic communities in a rapidly changing Seattle.

Obviously, going in, you need a guide to what you're in for, and who you need to reach and persuade. And bringing friends along is the initial step in the process.

Data for King County on "Run for Office" was compiled by the political science department at the University of Washington.