Somebody's Gotta Do It

Why Cursing at the News Won't Save the Nation, but Your Name on a Local Ballot Can

De: Adrienne Martini

Narrado por: Adrienne Martini

Somebody's Gotta Do It is a humorous (and instructive) memoir about a progressive woman who runs for very small-town elected office in a red county - and wins (yay!) - and then realizes the critical importance of the job.

Back in the fall of 2016, before casting her vote for Hillary Clinton, Adrienne Martini, a knitter, a runner, a mom, and a resident of rural Otsego County in snowy upstate New York, knew who her senators were, wasn’t too sure who her Congressman was, and had only vague inklings about who her state reps were. She’s always thought of politicians as...oily.

Then she spent election night curled in bed, texting her husband, who was at work, unable to stop shaking. And after the presidential inauguration, she reached out to Dave, a friend of a friend, who was involved in the Otsego County Democratic Party. Maybe she could help out with phone calls or fundraising? But Dave’s idea was: she should run for office. Someone had to do it.

And so, in the year that 26,000 women (up from 920 the year before) contacted Emily’s List about running for offices large and small, Adrienne Martini ran for the District 12 seat on the Otsego County Board. And became one of the 14 delegates who collectively serve one rural American county, overseeing a budget of $130 million. Highway repair? Soil and water conservation? Child safety? Want wifi? Need a coroner?

It turns out, local office matters. A lot.

©2020 Adrienne Martini (P)2020 Recorded Books

Inspiring! Funny! Easy Read!

I loved reading about how a "regular person", frustrated by the turn of events, took it upon herself to take action. I loved hearing about her experience - in a real person's terms, and how local government affects people's lives. And it's written with humor. Great read, inspiring, easy to read, and inspiring.

A personal story of how emotions shouldn't be in politics

You get a solid two chapters of how traumatizing the 2016 election was. If that is old news to you yet, maybe it will be good.