The Fayette County Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the Fayette Candidate Academy Tuesday, Feb. 23. There is no charge to participate.
All communities want and deserve good elected officials. There are many barriers to entry for people considering running for office. Those who have never run may think they don’t have time, they don’t want to raise money, they have no idea how to run and the list goes on. Those in office consider the first two issues as well as what can be done to freshen up a campaign.
The Fayette Visioning process realized that last barrier to entry listed above could be addressed by providing a learning opportunity for those interested in engaging in local government. At the time, like many items on the Fayette Visioning strategic plan, a good idea was laid out but the specifics were to be determined.
A few months after the Fayette Visioning plan was rolled out, Paige Muh with the Fayette Chamber heard about a program the Dalton Chamber of Commerce started a few years ago called “Candidate Academy.” With plans to use the Dalton Chamber model, the Fayette Chamber stepped up to execute Fayette Visioning’s idea.
“What we like best about the Dalton Chamber of Commerce’s Candidate Academy is that its sole purpose is to provide potential candidates with critical information without getting mired in politics. Fayette County’s political parties do a great job on the issues and a component of the class is to provide political party contacts for to those candidates that find the prospect of running a worthwhile endeavor,” according to a spokesperson. “Candidate Academy will focus on how to register as a candidate as well as how to stay in compliance with state ethics laws. We think most potential candidates will want to hear ideas on how to campaign and what to expect when elected. This last item is important so that those interested can prepare themselves and family for the demands of being a public official.”
Former state Sen. Ronnie Chance will be teaching the campaigning portion of the class. Since leaving office in 2014, Chance joined the Hudson Group, a government relations firm. Chance has run numerous successful candidate and issue campaigns.
Information is available at www.fayettechamber.org.
