Deciding to make a second run for the City Council after finishing 32 votes behind the winner in the last election had to be one of the easiest calls of Meghan Sahli-Wells’s young life, wasn’t it?
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Yes, it was, she said instinctively, having pulled papers for the April 10 race three hours after the City Clerk’s office opened on Monday, the first filing day.
Pause.
“Let me be honest with you,” Ms. Sahli-Wells said a moment later. “If this were a normal election cycle, all three incumbents were running and there wasn’t any of this unusual business with Mr. Malsin, I would seriously consider sitting it out, letting these guys go for it.”
Here we go again — Scott Malsin’s unprecedented, unorthodox mid-term resignation last week, preparatory to re-running for office a little later in this election season, affecting the strategy and dynamics of numerous, if not all, candidates.
What Is Normal?
“If this had been a normal election, I would have organized everything for my campaign months ago,” Ms. Sahli-Wells said.
“Since there was uncertainty…
“In this scenario, I have to run.”
This early in the month-long filing period, which ends Monday, Jan. 23, there are only four definite candidates for four seats. But the election must be held because the order of finish will determine who fails to pin the tail on the donkey and gets stuck with the starcrossed two-year seat.
“Sure it would be a disappointment if I got the two-year seat,” Ms. Sahli-Wells, the environmentalist/bicycling mom and Downtown Neighborhood Assn. activist, said. “But the point is to be on the City Council. And I would be there. Nobody wants to come in last. That is human nature.
“If the voters believe enough in me to get me into any seat, though, I will be happy.”
Ms. Sahli-Wells’s new campaign only generally will resemble her maiden run.
A Changed Person
“The first time I was shy,” she said. “It was really hard for me to talk to the press. It is easy for me to go and talk to people one-on-one. I felt fairly good about the candidate forums, although they could have been better, They could have been worse, too.
“This year I won’t be as shy as I was the last time. Now I know you guys.
“A campaign is a learning experience,” she said. It is hard because it takes a long time (slightly less than four months). But it is rewarding because you walk door-to-door and talk to real people.
“You learn a lot from the people you talk to. Some people I walked with were trying to get me to walk faster and to talk less to people.
“But if somebody is willing to talk to me, I will stand there for half an hour. Other people are watching the clock and saying, ‘Hey, guys, we’ve got to go.’
“But I genuinely enjoy hearing what people have to say. That’s how you get to know people and know what they are thinking about local issues. I find it fascinating.”
(To be continued)
Ms. Sahli-Wells may be contacted at http://meghansahliwells.com/
