Pillar Three

Sharpen

A candidate can say all the right things. The Proximity Test is how you find out if they mean them — in any party, in any race, at any level.

The Proximity Test

Three questions. Apply them to every candidate. The framework doesn't tell you how to feel about anyone — it gives you a methodology to evaluate them yourself.

1
What has this candidate actually done on this issue — before this moment put them on a ballot?
A platform built in the last six months, in response to outrage, is a different thing than a track record built over years. Demonstrated commitment before the spotlight is the signal. Urgency after the spotlight is the performance.
The LA mayoral race is the live case study. Bass declared a homelessness emergency on day one — but had she been in the room on homelessness before winning? Her challengers are making that question the race. Read the PBS recap →
2
Have they been close enough to the problem to know what questions to ask?
Proximity literacy is not the same as lived experience — though lived experience matters. It means: have they been in the room where the work actually happens? You can't credibly claim to solve something you've never been near.
You cannot solve homelessness from a distance. You cannot solve education funding without understanding how a school budget actually works. Proximity is a prerequisite, not a bonus.
3
Is this candidate — or the ecosystem around them — incentivized to solve the problem, or to keep it alive?
Some platforms, and some funding structures, profit more from ongoing outrage than from resolution. Ask who benefits if the problem persists. A candidate whose entire brand is built on a crisis has a different incentive structure than one whose brand is built on results.
This is especially important for evaluating newer candidates whose platform is entirely grievance-based — ask what their campaign looks like if the problem gets solved.

Why this framework — not just "check their voting record"

Voting records matter but they only tell you what a politician did once in office — not whether they understand the problem, or whether they're structurally motivated to fix it. The Proximity Test gets underneath the record to character and incentive, which is what actually predicts future behavior.

Want to see this framework applied to a real race? Read What Washington Voters Should Learn from the LA Mayoral Race on Onward Notes.

BallotReady — Research Your Ballot → VOTE411 — Candidate Research →

Ready to see the Proximity Test applied to the WA Supreme Court races? See the full scorecard →