Endless Surveys

One thing I was not prepared for, were the surveys. They came quickly after I filed for office, and I was not prepared. I had no idea what to say and felt extremely inadequate. I was coming from a place of close to zero participation in the political world and didn't really watch/read the news or stay up-to-date on current events. So receiving a survey where my words would determine if a caucus, non-profit, political group, etc. would be willing to endorse me left my frozen. (It seems that "frozen" is a big theme in my campaign experience...)

I didn't want to answer those surveys because 

1) There were so many surveys, I didn't know which ones were critical or not. 

2) I didn't know the answers to all the questions. I suddenly had to vocalize what I thought about every current event issue that exists. I didn't know how to answer the questions and I didn't know what the group sending me the survey believed in, so if I answered contrary to their belief system, what would they do with that information? Would my name be slandered? Would I lose voters? It seemed like every move I made was critically important, and when every detail is important, how do I parse out what is ACTUALLY important? Can you sense the inner turmoil over these surveys?!

3) If I got elected to the State School Board, I would be working with a team and I would have time to research issues. I didn't have an agenda and wanted first and foremost to represent the people in my district. Getting asked for specific details on how I felt about x, y, or z felt like a waste of time because more than my knowledge or opinion on a specific issue, I wanted my merit and value to come from the way I interact with voters, work with a team, portray active listening, etc. I didn't feel like surveys could tell the readers this information, so I despised surveys a little extra. 

I recognize that a survey is the fastest, most efficient way to get to know a large number of candidates and the groups sending out the surveys worked hard to come up with thoughtful questions that would give them an idea of the candidate's belief system. I hate the surveys still. I would rather be interviewed 15 times than fill out 15 surveys. (I do recognize that I could have researched every single question on those surveys, utilized my campaign team, etc. I did ask several teachers for their input on specific education-related questions, which I really appreciated.)

Perhaps it boils down to time. It took me 45-90 minutes to fill out one survey. That is so much time when you are working full time and running a campaign. With all the surveys I filled out, I had zero volunteers show up from those groups. I might have received donations from 10 people, but I can't tie any donations to a specific survey I filled out. I know I can't see the other end, where individuals decided to vote for me based on my survey answers, but the surveys started to feel like checklist items that didn't have any merit. In fact, several groups reached out through word of mouth and sent volunteers and donated money- and we just had a conversation on the phone. I am all for in-person connection, and that's where I shine the brightest. 

I still hate surveys. I have saved several surveys worth of answers and if I run again, at least I'll have a starting ground. I'll probably created a google doc of all the surveys I was given, who the group and point of contact is that sent the survey, and which ones I filled out. Organization could be very helpful.