Maybe it’s a boomer thing that younger generations will ignore, given that everything seems to be available online these days, but I check my mailbox faithfully every day. And it’s always nice when something other than junk mail or a bill arrives.
On Saturday, I received my ballot for the primary election in the mail. Did you? Very exciting. And we could have a lengthy debate about the wisdom of mass-mailing ballots to all registered voters — even those, like myself, who haven’t re-registered due to a change of name, address or party affiliation since the invention of the printing press. It seems like a bold assumption that nothing has changed in all those lives.
In fact, a quick Google search found that there are about 39,000 adults in Encinitas eligible to register to vote, but about 40,000 are actually registered. I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for this, but that’s a topic for a different column.
What really jumped out at me upon opening my very own delivered-by-mail ballot was the number of candidates for governor. Wow. Sure, I’ve seen the commercials for a few of them, as well as the video meltdown of one candidate, but holy smokes — there are 61 candidates on my ballot. So that led me to wonder: What does it take to become a candidate for governor of California, the most populous state and, some would say, the most important state in the country?
Well, it turns out it’s not that hard:
- Be a U.S. citizen.
- Be a registered voter and eligible to vote for yourself — duh.
- Not be convicted of certain felonies. Some felonies are OK. We are, after all, a very liberal and forgiving state.
- Not have already served two terms as governor since 1990, when term limits began.
- This one is more like 5-ish: There is a five-year residency requirement, which some believe is unconstitutional and would fail if challenged in court.
And as a side note, I know in California we don’t require ID to vote, but I hope we require ID to run for governor. Reading some of these names, I’m not so certain we do. Read them and see what you think.
That’s all there is to it. Unlike becoming an Uber or Lyft driver, a clerk at 7-Eleven or a barber at the local shop, there are no special experience or educational requirements to apply for this job. You don’t need to show you can lift 35 pounds, have a driver’s license or a clean driving record, or even have a high school diploma.
And given that literally billions of dollars are spent in our state that can’t be accounted for, history suggests a strong background in math or accounting isn’t required either.
Well, since we’ve come this far, what do we do to get on the list?
It’s the government, so you know there’s a process to follow.
Here’s what it comes down to: Fill out a bunch of forms and pay a nonrefundable filing fee. This election, the fee was about $5,000.
Now, if you have a bunch of time on your hands and don’t feel like parting with $5,000, you can submit signatures “in lieu of” paying the money. Does that sound better than parting with five grand? Super. This year, you only needed to collect the signatures of 6,000 registered California voters.
And I’m not here to throw stones at anyone willing to step up and put themselves out there as a candidate, because that takes some doing. But the reality is our “jungle” primary election system only advances the top two vote-getters. And unless you’re pretty well-to-do — like a certain billionaire candidate — you are going to need a lot of political donors to raise enough money to reach 40 million Californians about why you’d be the best.
Or maybe there’s another motivation.
Just maybe this is it: For about the cost of a long weekend for the family at Disneyland — about $5,000 — you are now a part of California history. You can add to your résumé for the rest of your life, and even in your obituary: “Candidate for governor of California.”
Now that’s a lot less expensive than a Harvard education — and, to some, far more impressive.
Happy voting.
Jerome Stocks is a former mayor and city councilman of Encinitas.
*The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Coast News or its staff.
