City Council Political Campaigns: No Experience Required?

This guest post was written by Al Arnold from The Academy of Local Politics.

There is a quick lube place in my city that advertises for help by saying “No Experience Required.”

I don’t take my car there. I am sure after a very short time they have received the training needed to change oil, but I still don’t take my car there. I have that option.

I do not have an option when my city council representatives are elected with “No Experience.” In fact, they all start out with “No Experience.” Quite simply city councils are just like the quick lube business. No Experience Required.

However, while I believe the new employee at the quick lube business does get training, I find most city council representatives never get training. Training is readily available through state and national municipal associations.

Just once I would like to hear a candidate say, “I will be a rookie at this job but I promise I will try to learn how to do my job better. I promise to attend a minimum of three days of training to learn how to do this job to the best of my ability.”

That is what I expect of a city council representative. Learn the job and get better at it. Make sure the plug is firmly replaced.

Is that too much to ask?

Lack of training is one of the reasons “Why Your City Council Makes Dumb Decisions.”

And it could be avoided.

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