Alpine’s next Honorary Mayor race starts soon

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.”