For those of you who have never tried going to a stranger's house, just to join a "meet and greet" party for a candidate, I urge you to try it. It took me a long time before I did.
In a "meet and greet" party, there is time to just socialize with a candidate. There is time just to know the person before evaluating the candidate. And especially with local candidates, there is a feeling of just being with neighbors.
This video is taken in very low light, so I apologize for the clarity. I think you get the feeling of the close knit comfort of a small living room, filled with people. Although this is edited for time constraints, people do have the time to ask questions and then to ask follow-up questions. No debate timer is about to go off! I really like that relaxed atmosphere compared to debates.
Matt Bostrom is running for Ramsey County Sheriff, and here is his social introduction and background, at a "meet and greet" party:
Once you arrive at the party, you are generally offered a sign-in, a name tag and a change to fund raise. If I don't yet know a candidate, then I usually say "I would like to hear the candidate before I decide on support". Generally any amount is acceptable, however the quality of the banquet and entertainment should be a gauge.
The etiquette of small parties requires that all questions and all discussion be done with smiles and humor. So for example, if a candidate asks if you agree with X and you do not, then you simply smile and say " I do happen to disagree, and this is why ... ".
In my neighborhood, we always have a ton of food on the banquet table, because that is just the local culture. Other neighborhoods have just a few snacks with a broad array of drinks.
While time with the candidates may still be limited, there are generally many supporters around who can answer many questions. Some candidates actually bring knowledgeable supporters along, so that people can have more than one person to question. If I am at a party, then you can always question me about my support. For some reason, people feel real comfortable asking me all the tough questions. (Chuckle, I wonder why!).
The social formula for getting to know people always seems to start with safe questions like "What neighborhood are you from?" to personal stories. Then the discussion of real political issues start. Now I noticed that the more progressive the group, the sooner the real political discussions start.
At some point, the candidate does make a speech and there is usually time for questions. One of my favorite questions is "Can you describe how X will look like in action?" That's when I can see which candidates really understand what they are talking about.
Here is another low light video of Matt Bostrom, this time speaking about his vision of what the Sheriff's office of Ramsey county would look like under his leadership. The video has been edited again for time, however there were many questions that painted a clear vision.
