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Should you run for public office? The city council, county commission, or state legislature?

Don't scoff. Where do you think politicians come from? Answer: Many come from appointed positions where they learn how government works, acquaint themselves with political leaders and taste public attention.

But should you run? Is it a natural next step for rising civic leaders? Can you do more as an elected official than an appointed? More to the point, will you like it?

It's not an idle question. Elected officials, academics, and journalists who cover politics agree: If you don't enjoy politics -- either campaigning for office or fashioning public policy -- you'll be miserable as an elected official. Richard Foglesong, who teaches politics at Rollins College in Florida, says the chief reward of political office "is your taste for politics. That can be compensating. It can justify the large investment of time and money, if you just enjoy the game."

An interest in politics, then, should be your first consideration in deciding whether to run for office. But it's not the only one. Here's what else you should think about:

Do you have the time? A city council or county commission job may look like easy work from the outside -- a few hours a week in a meeting. But what you don't see are the committee meetings, public hearings, forums, issue preparations, briefings and constituent work in addition to the weekly meetings.

Do you have the financial support? All that time spent campaigning and holding office will come at the expense of something, usually your job. Can your employer -- and your family -- afford for you to spend so much time away from work?

Are you prepared for the scrutiny? If you've ever written a bad check, been sued, gone through a messy divorce, smoked marijuana in college, or had a DUI conviction, you should be prepared for it to become public knowledge.

Do you have a thick skin? You won't please everyone, and when they criticize you, it may appear in the next morning's newspaper. Sometimes it'll be fair criticism, sometimes not. Can you live with public rebukes?

Are you inquisitive? Elected officials rarely control their agendas. You may have been elected to deal with land use issues, but you'll wind up voting on wastewater, public safety, financial management, downtown renewal, parking rates -- and dozens of other issues. If you can't interest yourself in a broad range of subjects, you'll be unhappy in office.

The greatest barriers are time and money. Depending on your community, you can end up spending 20 or 30 hours a week on city council work for a few thousand dollars in salary. Doug Booth, who retired as a utility executive in Charlotte, N.C., before running for the county commission, says he was surprised to find how heavy the workload was. He adds, "I have difficulty seeing how an individual can hold down a full-time job and do justice (to the political office)."

For that reason, observers say you should look at your family situation before deciding to run. Alan Ehrenhalt, executive editor of Governing, a magazine for state and local leaders, says politics can be particularly difficult for families with young children. "If you don't have children, or they're grown, that's an advantage," he says. "And if you're not the breadwinner in the family, add another point."

Given all that, why does anybody run for office? Love of politics, certainly. But there are other reasons. For one thing, it's not boring. If you like dealing with a wide variety of important problems, holding elected office can be stimulating work.

For another, you can grow in office. It's a cliche, but true. Running for and holding office are complex undertakings -- and every aspect offers the chance to learn new skills, from communicating ideas to asking for money, from learning teamwork to making important decisions with limited information. Even losing candidates say they're transformed by the experience, usually in positive ways.

Finally, you'll learn about your community. If you're interested only in planning, you may never get to know how poor families live in your city, which of your political leaders are reliable, and how the area is positioned for economic development. But a conscientious elected official can't help but learn these subjects -- and many more. As a result, you'll know your community in a way few others do -- and you'll have friends and acquaintances everywhere.

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