Whether it’s a local election that affects your neighborhood or a national race that will influence the direction of the country, elections are an important time to weigh candidates and decide which one best represents your views. Often, you need to move beyond the campaign ads and social media chatter to find the substantive candidate that has the leadership qualities to meet your needs. To help you do that, we’ve compiled this list of tips and resources to help you find the right candidate.
1. Understand the definition of candidacy.
When someone says, “You’re such a good candidate,” they are referring to the fact that you are a good person with a lot of potential. This could mean that you are a good worker, student or friend. The word candidacy is rooted in the Latin for “acquaintance” and refers to the process of becoming acquainted with another person.
2. Learn about endorsements.
Candidate endorsements can be a great way to see what the candidate stands for and how they might approach issues. For example, if a candidate is endorsed by an environmental organization, this could indicate that they will support legislation that protects the environment. If a candidate is endorsed by the NRA, this might indicate that they will oppose laws regulating guns. You can often find a list of the candidates’ endorsements on their campaign websites.
3. Be sure to read the candidates’ platforms.
The platform of a political party or a candidate is the plan that they have for addressing the issues facing the country or community. A good platform should be clear and concise, with a few key areas that the candidate is going to address. It should also contain specific, measurable goals. 4. Consider the candidates’ track record.
If a candidate has been in office for a long period of time, they are likely to have a history that you can review to assess their ability and commitment to address the issue at hand. This can be done by looking at their past votes and records, as well as evaluating their track record in other positions that they have held.
5. Know the rules of writing a letter of candidacy.
A letter of candidacy is a document that a program or school sends to the Committee on Accreditation (COA) when it is applying for initial accreditation. The letter contains a statement that the institution understands that candidacy status does not guarantee that the program will receive accreditation or that it will be granted accreditation at the end of the candidacy period.
The letter also includes a list of all the requirements for candidacy that the program has met so far and a timeline for when they will complete each remaining requirement, such as the preparation of the Program Presentation or comprehensive review. See resources for programs seeking initial accreditation for more information and letter templates.