Newsletter: March 8th, 2024

The Truth About Endorsements

The past few months we’ve seen various candidates stating publicly that endorsements don’t matter, while others have said openly that only certain endorsements matter.

Of course, it’s no secret that the candidates espousing that only certain endorsements matter are the candidates with the fewest endorsements this election cycle. That’s to be expected as candidates creating their own narrative to fit the situation is nothing new in politics.

Do endorsements of candidate’s matter?

Yes, endorsements do in fact matter, with a few important caveats.

There are generally 6 types of candidate endorsements: Traditional Media, Political Entities, Community Organizations, Regional Organizations, Professional Organizations and Individual. Each of the above has its own positives and in some cases, negatives.

There’s also a level of relevance associated with each of the types of endorsements, which of course, certain candidates will argue in their favor for no other reason than that’s the only endorsements they’ve received.

Individual Endorsements: Generally speaking, these are endorsements by past and/or current elected officials who have had real world, tangible experience in municipal management.  When you have a candidate endorsed by past or present elected officials, you can make the connection that those former mayors, commissioners, state reps believe the candidate they’ve endorsed is best suited for the incredible amount of work and responsibility that goes into the position of commissioner. So, it stands to reason that a candidate with endorsements from a broad group of past and present elected officials is a positive nod to the candidates abilities while a candidate with few or no individual endorsements is a clear sign that those who have been in elected positions do not believe the candidate has the ability to govern effectively.

Political Entities: These are your party specific clubs and organizations. Generally speaking, they only invite candidates registered to their party to their debates and forums, and of course they’ll only endorse a candidate from their party. With 40% of registered voters identifying as independent, the relevance of their endorsement, while important to members of their party, has waned in recent elections.

Professional Organizations: These would be groups like Delray Beach Firefighters IAFF Local 1842, PBC Police Benevolent Association, etc. These are very important endorsements because they come from our first responders who unlike “Media” entities, are truly embedded in the community on a daily basis. Our first responders are the ones who know our families, our businesses, who are out there every day and are the eyes and ears of what’s going on behind the scenes here in Delray. Endorsements by these professional organizations is broad based and truly important when looking at who is or isn’t supporting a particular candidate.

Community Organizations: These are groups that represent large blocks of residents and businesses in the community. Examples include The Set Neighborhood Alliance, Friends Of Delray and other such groups that are registered 501c3,c4,c6 entities. Unlike other “Ghost” organizations which never identify the people behind them, these groups are registered, have active boards, and vote on who they will endorse based on the voice of their constituents / members. These are some of the most important and meaningful endorsements because they reflect the concerns and the issues of broad sections of the community.

Regional Organizations: These are important entities such as the PBC Human Rights Council, NAACP, PBC Classroom Teachers Association & others. They are crucial in that they represent broad groups of individuals and professionals embedded in the daily lives of those who live, work and play in Delray. They reflect the their belief that the candidates they endorse hold their values and commitment to the community on the issues germane to those they represent.

News Media: Lastly, we have the “Traditional Media”. This includes entities like the Sun-Sentinel, Palm Beach post & other regional outlets. These traditional media outlets are the least relevant of entities that endorse candidates for multiple reasons. First, they are not active or embedded in the daily lives of the communities and it shows. Back in the day these media outlets were at every commission meeting, CRA meeting, DDA meeting. They were active in, and on the boards of our local chamber and non-profits. Sadly, in 2024, these media outlets are struggling to survive and as such, have disengaged with the communities they proport to serve. The reality is, their editorial boards tend to be remarkably out of touch with voters in the communities where they offer their endorsements, and it shows by their record.

The reality is that today, endorsements do matter.  Voters should always, to the extent they can, reach out to the candidates and discuss the issues most important to them.

In a world where we’re working our jobs, raising our children and limited on time, the majority of endorsements are a good indicator of how friends, neighbors, first responders and groups representing large portions of the community feel to be the most competent, experienced candidates.