Finding candidates

Independents sometimes used a mechanism called a “Citizen Search Committee” to find a candidate to run for a local office.

They convened a meeting of activists from throughout a ward or legislative district to interview potential candidates and select one to compete in the election. The group was demographically representative of the area and included people who were involved in local organizations, like block clubs, PTAs, churches, and synagogues.

They interviewed people who were known to be interested in running for office and those whom they observed in neighborhood activities and felt would be good candidates and effective elected officials.

Ideally, one candidate was chosen and the others dropped out. The chosen candidate then had a core of supporters to launch a campaign.

Sometimes, candidates came forward on their own and refused to back out. So, a Citizen Search Committee functioned more like a screening process to ferret out less viable candidates.

Some prospective candidates only had knowledge about small areas of the ward or legislative district or knew very little about issues voters were likely to raise. Some had no way of raising enough money to run a viable campaign. They realized they didn’t have what they needed to win.

Often, but not always, those prospective candidates chose not to run. And Independents could then rally around the person they thought would be the best candidate.