Reply to How difficult is it to get involved in local politics (VA)?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Like say a normal person who lived in Alexandria or Arlington wanted to get on the school board.  Do you have to have tons of money to run?[/quote]

No, but having friends or family members who would donate to you would be helpful. I've heard that it costs in the neighborhood of $20,000 to launch a full on campaign, with direct mailers, signs, etc.; if you run seeking the endorsement of a party, you will be expected to attend various fundraisers and "buy" a table or at least a plate, and that's part of the cost. So, if you can swing the costs yourself, super. If you have a large network of supportive family and friends, you can probably raise enough to run a respectable campaign; or if you have a lot of talented friends who could do all these thing that cost money for you as an in-kind donation, then you might be in a good position. I think most candidates for say, school board, go into it expecting that they will have to put up the majority of the money themselves. Sometimes they recoup the money, but most times, they don't. I'm an active and involved member of my community, but I've never donated money to a local campaign before (I have given my time, though). 
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