Questions to Ask Any Local Candidate Before You Vote

In some cases, a candidate's stated positions may matter less than whether they can answer basic, concrete questions about the body they're asking to join. The six questions below are built for a school board race, but every one of them (with the one flagged exception) transfers directly to a township supervisor, city or borough council, county commissioner, or judicial candidate.

1. Who actually decides this, and when do I get a say? Who chooses the substantive decisions this body controls, such as instructional materials and library content? At what point does the public see a decision before it's final, how can residents comment on it, and is there an appeals or opt-out process for decisions they object to?

2. Do you actually know the budget?

• How much of this body's budget is dictated by items it doesn't controlsuch as state pension contributions, mandated tuition or service payments, unfunded mandates? What would you actually do about the part of the budget that's within this body's control?
• This year's applicable tax or spending cap is a specific published number. Do you know what it is? Would you vote to exceed it, and if so, under which legal exception or authority?

3. What's the biggest decision coming, and is it actually yours to make? What do you anticipate as the most consequential decision this body will face during your term? Is that decision actually within this body's authority, or does it really belong to the state legislature, a county agency, or someone else?

4. How do you evaluate the people this body hires? How would you evaluate the superintendent? What specific, measurable criteria would you use?

5. How transparent has this body actually been? How often has this body gone into executive session (closed-door deliberation) in the past year, and for what stated reasons? (See our companion piece on the seven legal reasons a Pennsylvania public body may close its doors — anything outside that list is worth asking about directly.)

*6. Cross-filing and registration — ask only where it applies.* Pennsylvania permits candidates in judicial races and school board races to seek nomination on more than one party's primary ballot (called "cross-filing"). Did you cross-file? Why or why not, and what is your actual voter registration? For other local offices, confirm first whether cross-filing is legally available in that race before asking this question.

Related reading: Who Actually Runs Your School Board? and Four Public-Accountability Tools You Already Own give you the background to know whether a candidate's answer is actually correct.

A printable version of these six questions is available as a one-page flyer — see the related guides below.