The Alpine Mountain Empire Chamber of Commerce is looking for candidates for the 2019 Alpine Honorary Mayor’s Race!
Current Honorary Mayor Jennifer Tschida, associate publisher of The Alpine Sun newspaper, terms out in April.
The race, which raises money for good causes in Alpine, has set a record-setting pace in recent years. Tschida and three other candidates raised about $22,000 for four community charities and education needs.
“You can help raise money for a good cause,” said Rose Signore, owner of Postal Annex, and 2017 Honorary Mayor. “It’s a good thing for business to do for a community.”
Every dollar donated to a candidate’s campaign is counted as a “vote.”
The person who gets the most “votes” wins.
Unlike other political campaigns, voters for Alpine’s Honorary Mayor are encouraged to “stuff the ballot box” by voting as often as they wish in order to raise more money.
Candidates need to register with the Chamber in order to be official. Applications will be available soon online at www.alpinechamber.com or at the Chamber office in the Alpine Regional Center, 1620 Alpine Blvd., Ste. 208.
The deadline for submitting copies of “votes” to the Chamber office is 5 p.m. Friday, March 29, 2019. The winner will be announced on April 10, at the Chamber’s Spring Festival — a new event. Call (619) 445-2722 after January 2, 2019, for details.
The Honorary Mayor’s position is a voluntary one with no salary, no office and no power.
The Chamber holds the race each year as a community fund raiser. In return, elected Honorary Mayors attend Chamber events when possible to help members.
Although the Honorary Mayor has no authority to do anything official, since the competition started in 2003 the fund raiser has brought in a total of more than $100,000 to help make local improvements, support education and assist charities.
For candidates, the campaigns are a two-way street. They boost awareness of the candidate’s business, organization and/or cause as well as help Alpine.
Money raised over the years has helped fund teachers’ “wish lists” for local classrooms, provided new programs for students and assisted children who have diseases.
Among other things, the money has been used to spruce up the Alpine Community Center, provide interpretive signs for Wright’s Field in Alpine and rescue animal shelter dogs to train them as therapy and service canines.
Any adult 18 or older who lives or works in Alpine is eligible to enter the race.
“It’s not hard to do, but it’s fun to be creative,” said Signore, who is also the Chamber Board’s Director of Proceedings. “It’s not about winning. It’s about doing something good for your community and for doing something for a good cause.”
