Yes, I am heavily involved in local politics. Some pros and cons:
Pros:
-(hopefully) a feeling of accomplishment, at least once in a while
-a fair amount of ego stroking, depending on the position
-depending on your profession (builders and real estate people especially) local office is frequently lucrative
Cons:
-expense. You will be paying for a big chunk of your campaign probably, especially with a fringe party
-super expensive re time. Town Council (depending on town size and government setup) would be, in my guesstimation a minimum of 20 hours per week, up to nearly a fulltime job-and almost certainly unpaid
-sit through a couple of town meetings first, from beginning to end, to see if you can tolerate the boredom. They are a form of purgatory that make your most boring high school class seem like a Steven Spielberg movie.
-the possibility of countless hours wasted in party planning/bull sessions. This is probably especially true with the libertarians, plus you will get no end of grief from "party activists" (ie, all talk, no action) if you ever take any action that strays from the party line.
-I don't know Texas law, but in my state the election law is highly technical and intolerant of errors. I'm PERSONALLY liable (with party reimbursement expressly forbidden) for many screwups in my position, such as missing a report deadline, etc.
-Every town across the USA has at least one or two cranks who attend nearly every meeting and insist on making their (one) point over and over again. That person will become a major part of your life.
The above probably comes across a bit too negative, but I want you to step into this with eyes wide open. The fact of the matter is that nearly all local government is volunteer, and without those people selflessly giving away their time and efforts our society would not function.
) and my interest has been piqued.
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