Schooling for your school board race

If you're thinking about running for school board but are hesitant because you don't know the first thing about campaigning for office, fret not. Help is on the way, in the form of American Majority's candidate training seminar on Saturday morning, December 19, 2009:

What: Candidate Training Event

When: December 19th from 9am to noon

Where: Tulsa Technology Center - Career Training Center (3638 S. Memorial)

Cost: $25 - Materials and light snacks will be provided.

RSVP: Call 918-289-0159 or email trait at americanmajority dot org.

From the website:

American Majority Candidate Training Seminars are designed specifically to educate candidates on every level how to run effective and victorious campaigns and prepare them to become successful elected officials. Topics to be covered in the seminar include: usage of traditional and new media, campaign planning, successful fundraising tactics, and grassroots organization.

Upon completion of the seminar, candidates will receive continuing education materials, communications curriculum, and suggestions to help them utilize think-tank resources.

Cost for the event is $25 per person and pre-registration strongly encouraged as space is limited.

According to Trait Thompson, American Majority's Tulsa area field representative, "We've established this training specifically for those seeking school board seats. We want to encourage people to run and not have them intimidated by the prospect of elected office."

Prospective campaign managers, volunteer coordinators, etc., are also welcome to sign up for the session.

If you're seriously thinking about running for school board, I encourage you to go ahead and file and then sign up for this training event. (The filing period ends at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.) As political races go, school board elections are relatively low budget, as you're reaching a relatively small number of voters. You just have to identify the people who will vote for you and get them to show up on election day. (And if you manage to get at least 15% of the vote, you get your filing fee back.) (UPDATE: Trait Thompson informs me that there is no fee to file for school board in Oklahoma.) Take it from a two-time candidate: Running for office is a great experience, even if you don't win.