How to research a political candidate's background?

[drmom]

I asked this question before the last election on my state forum, but didn't receive any answers, so I'm hoping that a wider audience might help.

Is there a way to research candidates political leanings in races where such information is not disclosed? For example, in our town the city council members, school board members, etc. do not run with a party affiliation. In fact, their campaign websites do not even begin to give any hint about their political views. Although I realize that the type of jobs they are seeking do not necessarily have much to do with national politics, I would still feel better knowing that I didn't vote for some right-wing extremist.

So, I went to Fundrace.org to see if any of the candidates had made political donations, and none had (!), so no information there. Any other ideas on how to do a "political background check"? As usual, I really appreciate the wealth of information here on DU!

[populistdriven]

1. Republicans generally interview all the local hookers to get the good dirt

But they usually use a 3rd party PI to do this dirty work

[TayTay]

2. The smaller races are tough

You can go to city or town hall and ask to see the registration rolls. (In my State this is public info, but your mileage may vary.) Then you can do a check through the newspapers. If you have a library card, go to the website for your town and see if they have a link to an assortment of electronic files of newspapers in your state/area. Most libraries now have links that allow you to enter a number that will give you either limited Lexis/Nexis or Gale database access for a limited range of papers in your area, plus archives. You can do this from your computer or laptop at home, which is oh so nice.

Other than that, check the way the website words things and look for 'code words' that the RW uses. See if they reference local organizations and then see if those orgs have websites. You can pick up a lot by just using what is there.

Often times there is nothing to find because these are citizens stepping up to run for the first time. They don't have anything to find because they are new to the process. You just have to ask around to see if any you know can vouch for them and then figure out if what they say makes sense to you.

Good luck and happy sleuthing!

[Jackpine Radical]

3. Depending on the office, they may have to list contributors.

Find out whoøs giving them $$ & you'll have a handle on whose interests they are likely to serve.

[tech3149]

4. Congratulations, You just asked the $64K question.

The internet provides a great resource for finding out about national candidates, but it's almost worthless for local races. The only good way to know anything about local candidates is to be hooked into your local community through friends, family , or the local party offices. The local party office should be pretty able to share what they know about candidates or provide information for meet and greets. If the party has no presence, contact the local elections office and get contact information for the candidate and get in their face and ask them what you want to know.