by: countrycat

Thu Oct 15, 2009 at 15:30:00 PM CDT

Although I guess that’s obvious, I never gave it much thought until I met Alabama Treasurer candidate Jeremy Sherer at a Save Alabama PACT meeting in Huntsville.  He had taken an entire Saturday to drive up with his family and meet with parents.  Later, I noticed that every single news article about PACT parent meetings across the state always mentioned that Sherer attended the meeting.

Here’s a sample of PACT meetings Sherer has attended recently:

Thursday, October 15th – Cullman County
Tuesday, October 13th – Blount/Marshall County
Monday, October 12th – Morgan/Lawrence County
Tuesday, October 6th – Lauderdale County
Monday, September 28th – Tuscaloosa County

Add in recent Democratic party events in Cullman, Baldwin County, and Phenix City, and you have to wonder when Sherer sleeps – much less how he works full time and shares parenting duties.

So I asked him.  And his response made me appreciate fully for the first time just how much of a commitment it is to run for office – particularly a statewide office.

I can’t imagine how anyone even tries it unless he/she is independently wealthy.  The thought of simultaneously fundraising, campaigning, working, and being a parent is so daunting that I’m amazed anyone accepts the challenge.

I’m also grateful to the people who are so invested and hopeful about the future of Alabama that they’re willing to try.

I am still in full time practice. To keep on top of my duties, I frequently arrive at the office at 630 AM and leave at 6PM.

I am grateful to work with a firm that has constantly supported me in my desire to serve Alabama. I have interviewed with employers before that have openly expressed reservations of hiring me due to my desire to serve as an elected official and history of working for elected officials.  I am extremely fortunate to work for a firm that not only allows me to seek public service opportunities, but also supports and encourages me.

However, the largest sacrifice is done by my family. I have two children who are two years old or younger. I have been married less than three years.

I could not pursue my calling of public service were it not for my wife who maintains the gravitational balance within our family. She raises our children while I’m at work, and performs overtime when I would normally be there but am not due to campaign necessities.

There isn’t a morning that goes by when I’m driving to work and my family is in bed, or an evening when I’m driving home and due to arrive near midnight that I don’t think about all that I have missed that day in my children’s lives.

And, from that perspective, if you didn’t periodically doubt yourself and your decisions you probably aren’t that good of a parent.  I can’t help but examine my pursuits at times and weigh the cost/benefit ratio in regards to the burden that I’m placing on my spouse and entire family. But, as soon as doubts creep in, my wife reassures me and re-energizes me.

We are a single income family, and the pressure upon me to uphold my occupational obligations is immense. If I drop that ball, or if the market impacts my firm to the point they had to let me go, my family’s entire way of life would be jeopardized – as with most families within Alabama.

Some might look at my situation and wonder if I am stretching myself too thin.  President Obama frequently quoted Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. while on the campaign trail.  I agree with both men that it’s important to appreciate the fierce urgency of now.

What’s so urgent that Sherer is making this sacrifice?

He’s told me in previous interviews that he thinks this 2010 election is critical to Alabama’s future.  It will set the course for the state for a generation to come and it’s important to have young leadership in state government.

But because much of the legislature is relatively entrenched, there aren’t that many opportunities for people in their 30’s and 40’s to enter state government:

The elected positions that used to be open to younger people are no longer available due to entrenched interests and a feeling of contentment among incumbents.

That is one reason why you have first time candidates and younger candidates like Stephen Black, Greg Foster, Joshua Segall and myself opting for other offices. None of our incumbent, executive, statewide elected officials ever served in a capacity lower than statewide or federal office.

Thus, as a candidate, you must either wait your turn, until possibly your 40’s or 50’s, for a lower-level elected office like legislature, or you must expend great personal sacrifice in time and money to wage a statewide race, where you have some turnover due to term limits.

I firmly believe that Alabama needs an influx of new leaders and new ideas, on both sides of the aisle. Alabama has great potential as a state, but needs dynamic thinking in terms of leadership and policy to realize its potential.

However, without meaningful campaign finance reform that fosters an environment allowing emerging leaders a legitimate chance in elections, the likelihood of any kind of dramatic change in Montgomery is doubtful.

Until then, it will necessitate a Herculean effort and significant sacrifice by candidates outside of the establishment to wage a competitive or victorious effort to win elected office in a legislative or statewide capacity.

Alabama’s need for new, younger leadership isn’t an overstatement. The average age isn’t well, ancient, but there are a number of people in their 70’s and 80’s serving.  28 House members are age 65 or older. According to the Political Parlor:

But still…. running for Alabama Treasurer?  Feeling obligated to drive all over the state attending these PACT meetings, getting home at midnight, then up at 5:30 or so to do it all again?  Why not something easier… like State Auditor?

On the trail, people have asked me why I want to be Treasurer in the wake of the catastrophe known as Kay Ivey. But, from my perspective, I wouldn’t be a candidate for Treasurer were it not for Kay Ivey.

True public servants want to go where they can make a direct, impactful, positive difference in the every day lives of citizens. Kay Ivey’s actions and inaction as Treasurer have created numerous problems in the everyday lives of Alabamians that necessitate real leadership from the Treasurer’s office.

48,000 children have had their college futures compromised by Treasurer Ivey. And,Alabama’s once proud, nationally recognized banking community has been decapitated, and small businesses and communities around the state are less secure due to Treasurer Ivey’s inadequate support community banking.

In my view, Alabama needs the type of leadership that I can provide to salvage the college dreams for these 48,000 children and to restore the vitality of our local lending institutions.

The short term sacrifices that I make in regards to my family life, though significant – most especially to me and those around me – are outweighed by the damage done by Kay Ivey, and I am compelled to act despite the personal cost.

Let me end this post how it began… with a great, big shout out to Sherer, Josh Segall, and other young leaders who are sacrificing career advancement and family life to run for office.

Their commitment, energy, and leadership will help improve our state government and the lives of Alabama’s citizens.  I’m proud to be associated with their effort – if only in a small way.