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Kim Alexander,

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By Posted Friday, May 22, 1998, at 3:30 AM ET

I suspect I will spend much of this weekend working or at least thinking about it. The primary election is just 12 days away, and we have to add more content to our online voter guide.
The laundry is piling up, and my car is filthy and out of gas, I've got dry cleaning to take in, plants to water, and bills to pay. I try to keep a balance in my life, but it's really hard to do at this time of year. It's always like this during elections. The clock is ticking, election day is nearing, and you know you'll never forgive yourself if you don't manage to give it your best effort. Next comes the suspense, and then the excitement of finding out who won, who lost, which races were close, where the upsets were. Everyone talking about it later, evaluating, wishing they could do this or that part over again.
Elections have been a part of my life since I was 7, when my father ran for the City Council in my hometown of Culver City. He served as a councilman for 16 years, and my entire childhood was filled with election night parties, yard signs, and phone calls from constituents asking for Dad's help with their problems.
I guess politics is in my blood, although there are days when I wish I could walk away from it--and from all the cynicism and hopelessness that dwells in and around our hallowed halls of government. But then there are moments when the hard work and faith pay off, when you see the gears shift and we crank it up a notch. Now that the Internet has arrived, we have no more excuses. We have the tools to shape revolutions. Wanna have one?

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By Posted Friday, May 22, 1998, at 3:30 AM ET
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Kim Alexander is president of the California Voter Foundation.
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