Trials and Triumphs of Running for Office as U-M Students
Published: Thursday, January 21, 2010
Updated: Thursday, January 21, 2010
Ever since President Obama took office, it seems student activism on U-M’s campus has simmered down. Except for the College Libertarian’s “Liberty on the Diag,” there have been few marches, protests, or Diag gatherings brought about by student political groups on campus. While campus activism remains cooled for the moment, however, student political activism in the Ann Arbor community is just taking off. In interviews with U-M alumnus Eric Plourde and LSA Senior Yousef Rabhi, the Review set out to discover the candid experiences of the former Libertarian and current Democrat student candidates.
For such young politicians, it would seem that insurmountable difficulties face students running for office. Fundraising, marketing a platform, and getting votes are difficulties that even much older politicians face. Eric Plourde didn’t think so. In 2009, he ran for Ann Arbor mayor as a Libertarian candidate. The former College Libertarians president and future U-M law student shared his thoughts on how Ann Arbor citizens reacted to his candidacy.
“Sure there are difficulties in the sense that some people don’t take you seriously, but the upside is too significant to focus on the negative. I might have gotten some strange looks once people found out that I was running for mayor, but once that would pass, they always wanted to hear my ideas. And that was the goal.”
LSA Senior Yousef Rabhi, currently an LSA Senior and environmental major running for Washtenaw County Commissioner, also spoke about the importance of engaging the public as a student politician, but also the difficulties created. “Because the primaries are held over the summer when students aren’t in town, that’s one of the difficulties as a Democrat and in a contestant primary.” He further explained, “I’ve lived in Ann Arbor my whole life and I will need the student vote. The summer break cuts off the student voting power.”
Rabhi touched on the use of social media as a way to engage students. To get the word out, Rabhi uses social networking websites like Facebook. “Using social media like Facebook and getting groups started [is effective]. But so is talking to people. Once people see your face in the Daily they’ll be more inquisitive and talk with friends.”
“Traditional ‘get out the vote’ techniques like literature distribution in student neighborhoods is also helpful,” Rabhi added.
Plourde also engaged students during his candidacy and used his age as a way to discuss the issues. “A typical mayoral candidate has to fight for face time, but everyone wanted to talk to me about my age. My strategy was to channel this public interest into a discussion about the issues.”
When asked about the goals each during each student’s candidacy, Rabhi and Plourde responded differently. As a Democrat running for Washtenaw County Commissioner, Rabhi hopes to maintain services for residents. “There are a few focuses. The main one is it’s a matter of maintaining the services the County provides to its residents. The homeless shelter and the mental health services are a couple. These services are dwindling as a result of decreased tax revenue and need to be maintained.” He also hopes to work with Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti communities to create a transportation system.
As mayor, Plourde said “sound leadership” for the people would have been his ultimate priority.
“I would have liked people to say two things about my administration. First, that I improved the lives of the people I served. The people of this state have seen some rough times, sometimes due to a lack of sound leadership, and they deserve better. Second, I would hope that my time in office would have, in some way, progressed the ideas of liberty. All too often public officials are willing to step on individual rights in the name of populism or expediency. I would hope to have resisted this temptation.”
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