We’re on the ballot
![Mia, Shannon, Isabella and Phil Nickinson pose for the camera at Florida International University in Miami.](/content/images/size/w960/2024/06/IMG_0070.jpeg)
Now it’s officially official. We’ll be on the ballot for November 5, running for to represent the fine people of District 1 on Pensacola City Council.
It’s kind of funny to spend most of qualifying week — that’s the period of time in which candidates actually file paperwork and submit the fees to run[1] — on the other side of the state. But I made a promise to myself that running for office will not change who I am, nor will it change my commitment to my family. So when your eldest daughter starts college many hundreds of miles away, you go. There was no way I wouldn’t be there.
But now the work really begins. Five months of yard signs. Five months of questionnaires from various civic groups. Five months of interviews. And, most important, five months of knocking on doors.
November will be here before we know it.
In the meantime, the narrative is definitely taking shape. Downtown money and support is piling in on the other side.
I’m a parent, not a politician. That’s why I’ve been working with the city’s largest youth sports provider for the past five years. That’s why I promised that we’d have soccer in Scenic Heights in a way that wouldn’t destroy the neighborhood. (Spoiler: Scenic Heights is still here, and better because the park is better.) And that’s why I’m running now.
That’s also why we still need help. Forward this to a friend. Let me know if you want a yard sign. If you can, please donate. We’re up against it, for sure. But we can do this, together.
As always, thank you. We’re doing this for you, but we couldn’t do any of it without you.
The folks in the Supervisor of Elections Office were incredibly helpful throughout the whole process. ↩︎