Skip to main content

Elections

I write a number of posts about elections involving other people. I have run for election many times in my career and I should probably write about that a little for balance.

I have not run for political office, voted for by the electorate at large. Early on in my profession in academia I ran for seats on various committees in my university, and when on those committees I have run for chair.  I have also run for offices in professional societies.

I haven't kept an accurate record but I'd say that my winning rate is about at one out of three. I'm not an extrovert so it takes time for folk to learn what I am capable of doing. This is one of the advantages that I have seen in staying at my university as long as I have---many people know by now what I am capable of.

This has been cumulative. Once I was afforded leadership opportunities they inevitably brought greater recognition. I'd like to think that I do good work but I suspect that I am known rather for doing the work, regardless of good/bad, as many folk who are elected in academia don't put the effort into it.

The other thing that is worthy of note is my persistence. I am willing to fail in public (and that is what it is to lose an election) and try again. Many others are not. I don't know if I have a thick skin; defeats do hurt a good deal. I do know that to do the things that I want to do I need to keep trying and that is what keeps me going.

Some people derogate politicians as if they were all the same. Like all bigotries this is too simple to be true. Their motivations differ, the compromises they are willing to make to achieve their goals differ, their compassion and ambitions are all over the place. My personal experience has caused me to always maintain a little respect for someone willing to run and face loss. Many people don't have the courage.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Holiday Break

I have been teaching for 37 years now, and I go through many of the same things at the end of the Fall semester each year. There is relief at the completion of a significant task (teaching each of my classes) but there is a good deal of physical and mental weariness and aches. I could sleep for several days straight if not for my sleep disorder. By and large my mind is not very sharp and as an introvert I try to be pleasant with loved ones but am not outgoing at all. With age the feeling of being drained deepens in more and more ways. Of course this is when we have, almost every year, taken a road trip to visit birth families in the Northeast, a full day of driving each way, often involving winter weather far worse than what we are accustomed to in NC. I love my birth family members as well but as with my created family I am weary and not very outgoing. The conversation is rarely about me and my day-to-day life but rather about younger family members and family friends that I do not kn...
Post a Comment
Read more

Accountability

Mathematics as a discipline teaches accountability. Every claim, whether it be a computation result or a statement (theorem) about how things work is accountable. We teach this accountability developmentally, with lower expectations at the beginning, and sometimes folk who study mathematics casually don't understand this. In my multivariable calculus classes, which I teach most frequently, I usually phrase my expectations as "give me a reason to believe your answer", citing my time working at an investment bank where my recommendations had financial repercussions and my supervisor never took my word for anything. In higher-level mathematics classes such as Abstract Algebra or Analysis I can be more explicit: these are the things we all agree to assume, these are the proof techniques which we understand; can you make an argument that convinces the community who have accepted those axioms and rules of inference that what you claim is true? We work hard to remove the ego fro...
Post a Comment
Read more

Contents of Most Recent Email to NC Senators

 Sent to Senators Tillis and Budd of NC this morning: My uncle was a police detective in Philadelphia before he retired. He showed his face and his badge to all he talked to on the job; he gave his name and business card to the public he served. This is what law enforcement officials have done in this country as policy until now; what if anything has changed?   The violent thugs serving in ICE are not law enforcement. They do not protect and serve; they attack and refuse to identify themselves. They are a paramilitary force responsible only to President Trump and his minions, who reflexively desecrate the memory of their victims. All dishonor themselves daily, all lack integrity. Immigration is a serious issue. Using brutal thugs to deal with it is like using a chainsaw to remove an appendix. The appendix may need to come out but using a chainsaw is a silly solution that kills people. It is painful to think of all the children incarcerated by ICE. It is unthinkable to all...
Post a Comment
Read more