Are you Dissatisfied with the State of Politics these Days?

I had no plans to ever run for public office.  I’ve always liked politics, but have optimistically believed that doing research and casting a vote for the “right” candidate was where my responsibility ended.  After returning home to Pittsburgh, I became increasingly dissatisfied with the poor decision-making that I was witnessing at the federal level, but couldn’t do much about it – besides vote.  

I soon came to realize that I was also not in agreement with some of the local politicians that were deciding how my borough would be built, financed, and function.  The main difference between the federal and local issues was that the local decisions seemed to affect me more directly, and on an ongoing daily basis.  I was able to witness the direct result of those actions (and inactions) as I walked around Bellevue talking with friends and business owners.

I thought attending local Council meetings would give me an opportunity to sway opinions in the correct direction.  Hearing people in power literally tell their citizens to sit down and shut up convinced me that I needed to run against that mindset and remove that factor from the public equation.  Having differences of opinion with political affiliations is one thing, but having unprofessional and disrespectful attitudes is unproductive and not acceptable to me.  With that said, I left that Council meeting and had a few beers with like minded individuals who were equally upset about the direction we were headed.  Shortly after that I was convinced that I needed to personally effect change and run against the incumbent Republican President of Council and remove him from power.  

Fast forward through the long campaign to election night.  I’m standing in the freezing rain for 11 hours outside one of the polling stations alongside my opponent.  We are both thanking voters for coming out and trying to garner last minute support.  I am relatively new to Bellevue and he has been here for 70+ years and seems to know everyone coming through the door.  My apprehension of being the underdog in this race is compounded every time he shakes a hand and asks how so-and-so is doing.  This guy knows everybody!  Around dinner time my campaign manager pulls me aside to show me numbers coming in that are close.  Then the people getting off of work begin to vote and the rain stops (literally and figuratively).  We finish strong and I end up winning 69.8% of the vote in my ward.  Reality begins to sink in as we celebrate with beers at Lincoln Avenue Brewery…  

It’s a lot of work, but I have no regrets.  It feels really good to approve decisions that positively affect my neighborhood and improve the quality of life here.  This country is full of examples that have proven that you don’t need experience to be successful in running a campaign.  Anyone with the right drive, intellect, and heart can make a difference and quite possibly leave their community better than they found it.  Maybe that person is you?

Authored by Jeff Stuncard, who holds a Master’s Degree in City Planning and has spent 25 years in land development and Island Planning in Nashville, Miami/ Fort Lauderdale, and the Florida Keys.  He is currently the Operations Liaison for NuRelm in East Liberty and when not attending to Council matters in Bellevue, he is renovating neglected properties to rent.
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