Campaigns are about personalities, voting is about responsibilities
For much of my career in corporate America, I hired employees, led teams and conducted more performance reviews than I can count.
One lesson never changed: Before you evaluate someone, you first have to understand the job they were hired to perform.
What are the responsibilities of the position? What skills does it require? How will success be measured? Only then does it make sense to evaluate the person doing it.
I've come to believe the same principle applies to elections.
This November, Guam voters will elect a governor and lieutenant governor, members of the Legislature and a delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Although their names all appear on the same ballot, they're applying for very different jobs.
Yet campaigns often encourage us to begin somewhere else.
· Do I know this person?
· Do I like this person?
· Do they seem sincere?
· Did they give a good speech?
Those aren't unimportant questions. They're simply not the first ones that should be asked. The first question should be: What job is this person applying to do?
The governor and lieutenant governor are asking voters to entrust them with leading the executive branch, managing public agencies, preparing budgets and carrying out the laws enacted by the Legislature.
Legislators have different responsibilities. They write laws, approve budgets, represent their constituents and hold government accountable through oversight.
Guam's delegate to Congress has yet another role—representing the island's interests in Washington, serving on committees and advocating for federal policies that affect the territory.
Different offices. Different responsibilities. Different standards for success.
Only after understanding the office does it make sense to evaluate the applicant before filling out a ballot.
If someone already holds the position, have they earned another term?
Have they shown up prepared?
Have they communicated honestly?
Have they explained difficult decisions?
Have they demonstrated sound judgment?
Have they worked effectively with people who disagree with them?
Have they been accessible to the people they represent?
Can they point to accomplishments instead of simply offering new promises?
If they're asking voters to hire them for the first time, what experiences suggest they're prepared for the responsibilities they're seeking?
Those are ordinary questions in business. They should be ordinary questions in elections too.
Living in Guam—and before that, in Yap—reminded me that elections in island communities are different from those on the mainland.
Candidates aren't strangers whose names suddenly appear on campaign signs. They're neighbors. They're relatives. They're former classmates. They're fellow church members. You may have known them or their families for years.
That's one of the strengths of island life.
It also asks something more of us.
Personal relationships naturally shape our impressions. They always will. Respect, friendship and family connections are woven into the fabric of island communities.
But Election Day asks a different question. Not whether someone is a good neighbor. Not whether they're well liked. Not whether you've known their family for years.
But whether they're the right person for this particular office.
There's an old management lesson I've never forgotten—you can't fairly evaluate someone's performance until you understand what the job requires.
Why should elections be any different?
Campaigns come and go. Billboards come down. Television commercials disappear. Social media moves on to the next controversy.
The responsibilities of public office remain.
Before casting a ballot this November, spend a little less time asking whether you like the candidate—and a little more time understanding the office they're asking you to hire them for.
Because the job should always come before the person.
Joyce McClure is a former senior marketing executive and former Peace Corps volunteer in Yap. Transitioning to freelance writing, she moved to Guam in 2021 and relocated back to the mainland in 2023. Send feedback to joycemcc62@yahoo.com
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