Tuesday's 5:00 deadline to file paperwork to run in the spring elections for Dane County Board came and went without much fanfare. Of the 37 County Board seats up for election, only 10 will have contested races.

Kristian of The Daily Page gives a complete rundown of who will have a free ride and who will have to work for their seats. A mere 51 candidates have come forward from across the county.

Just before 5:00, several County Board Supervisors and candidates, a few members of the press, and I waited in the County Clerk's office for any last minute candidates to come forward. As I copied down the names from the Clerk's list, I could not help but wonder why nearly 75% of the positions on the board went uncontested.

What is responsible for this lack of civic involvement? A number of possibilities come to mind:

1. How much does the public know about running for office?
Information is available on the County Clerk's website, but one would be unlikely to simply stumble upon the info unless actively seeking it. Candidate filing gets very little press attention, especially prior to the day that all forms are due. Political insiders, those who are already involved, know how to run for office, when to think about running, and what needs to be filed. The average citizen does not have this information and may very well not think about running in a spring election as early as December of the prior year. In fact, I mentioned to someone that I was heading to the Clerk's office to get the list of County Board candidates, and she asked, "Is there an election coming up already?"

2. Is running for office simply too intimidating? Is the problem really the big, bad word "POLITICS"?
On occassion, I have told someone that she or he would make a great County Board Supervisor or City Alderperson. Inevitably, the reaction is almost always something along the lines of, "But I don't know the first thing about politics," or "I don't have the right experience for that." I can remember thinking of local elected officials as intimidating and unapproachable. Perhaps, we need more opportunities to meet and get to know our elected officials to realize that they are "regular people" (to use an expression from one of my favorite episodes of the Cosby Show).

Recent political ugliness on the County Board and in the City Council race certainly can't make running for office very appealing. Who wants to deal with all of the petty fighting? Not many people look forward to schoolyard drama.

3. Is running for office just too expensive?
During the last City Council election, most candidates in contested races spent around $5000 with the top spender over $11,000. When did running for local office get to be so expensive? Perhaps more people would step up if elections were publicly funded or spending limits were in place.

4. Do people not have time to serve in an elected office?
The time commitment is extensive, as local elected officials often spend several nights a week at county/city committee meetings, neighborhood association meetings, meetings with developers or lobbyists or other groups, etc. Working a full-time job for 40 hours or more and attending all of these meetings does not leave much time for family, friends, recreation, or even sleep.

5. Does fear of losing get in the way?
No one likes losing, just like nobody likes being chosen last in 6th grade gym class. I can personally attest to the fact that the world doesn't come to an end after losing an election, just as it never came to an end back in 6th grade.

6. Do most residents even know about the County Board and what it does?
Being a bit of a curious geek, I have asked many of my not-so-politically-inclined friends to name their local elected officials. Very few can name their city Alderpeople, and even fewer can correctly name their county Supervisors. When I've mentioned various decisions made by the County Board, I have been met with responses such as, "Why does the county decide that?" and, "All I know is that they fund the agency I used to work for." It must be hard to consider campaigning to become part of a body without even knowing what that body of government does.

The lack of interest in candidacy for County Board is likely a product of all of these factors and more. Of course, it might just be that individuals do not realize that they can make a difference. Or maybe they just don't care.