Questions to Ask Politicians
These twenty-one questions are for a constituent with one turn at a microphone, two minutes on a doorstep, or a seat at a candidate forum. They cover what the office can actually decide, what is in next year's budget and what was cut to pay for it, where the campaign money comes from, which promises went unkept, and how to get help from a caseworker when you need it. Several are written to be filled in with the vote or the issue that matters where you live.
The questions
Open any question for the note
What are your top three priorities for this district, and which would you drop first if money got tight?
Why ask it
The ranking is easy and the second half is not. Being forced to name the first casualty shows what is a genuine commitment and what is on the list because it polls well. Anyone who refuses to choose has told you the priorities are undifferentiated.
What can this office actually decide, and what is outside your control?
Why ask it
A city councillor cannot change state tax law and a state legislator does not run your school. Candidates who are straight about the limits of the job are usually the ones who will not promise you something they cannot deliver.
When did you last hear about that issue from someone who lives here, and what did you do about it?
Why ask it
Turns a talking point into a traceable event. Real answers come with a place and a person, even anonymised. A general reference to hearing it at the doors, with no follow-up action attached, tells you where the issue really sits on their list.
What have you got done in the past year that you would point to?
Why ask it
Look for something completed rather than something introduced, supported, or advocated for. Incumbents with a real record answer in ten seconds. A long preamble about the difficulty of the process usually precedes a thin list.
Which promises from your last campaign have you not kept, and why?
Why ask it
You are testing whether they track their own commitments. A candidate who names one and explains what blocked it is more trustworthy on the next promise than one who insists everything was delivered, which is checkable and usually false.
How did you vote on the last decision that affected this area, and why?
Why ask it
Name the specific vote when you ask, because the general version invites a general answer. The reason given is the part to remember: it will tell you how the next difficult vote goes, and whether the explanation matches the public record.
What is in next year's budget for this area, and what got cut to pay for it?
Why ask it
Budgets are where policy actually happens, and few candidates at a forum have read the relevant pages. Someone who can name a line item and its change from last year is engaged with the mechanics rather than the messaging.
Where would the money for your proposals come from: new taxes, borrowing, or cuts somewhere else?
Why ask it
There are only a few honest answers, and "waste and inefficiency" is not one of them unless a figure follows. Ask which of the three it is and press until you get one, because the choice determines who ends up paying.
Who are the largest funders of your campaign?
Why ask it
It is public record in most places, so the point is partly to see whether you get an accurate answer. Listen for whether the money is local, out of area, or from industries regulated by the office they are seeking.
Would you vote on a matter involving a company or a union that funded you?
Why ask it
Recusal norms vary and most officials do vote. The candid answer explains where they draw the line and why; the evasive answer talks about integrity in general without naming a single situation in which they would step back.
What are you doing about housing costs here specifically?
Why ask it
Housing answers separate the people who know local mechanics from the people with slogans. Listen for zoning, permitting timelines, a specific development, or a housing trust fund figure, rather than a general commitment to affordability.
What piece of our infrastructure is closest to failing, and what is the plan and the date?
Why ask it
Every jurisdiction has a bridge, a pipe, a treatment plant, or a substation near the end of its life, and staff know which. A candidate who can name theirs has been briefed properly. A date and a funding source make it a plan rather than an ambition.
How is the school district funded now, and what would you change?
Why ask it
The funding mechanism is technical, local, and rarely understood by candidates who campaign on education. The answer shows whether their proposals could actually be paid for, and who would pay, which is usually property owners.
What happens here to someone who cannot get or afford medical care?
Why ask it
This asks about the local reality rather than national policy: which clinic, what the wait is, whether the nearest emergency department is twenty minutes away or an hour. Officials who have looked into it answer with places and numbers.
What is the plan for people living outside, and where do you expect them to go?
Why ask it
Almost every candidate supports both compassion and enforcement, so ask about the destination. If the answer involves clearing an encampment, ask how many shelter or housing places exist tonight, since that number decides whether it is a plan or a relocation.
What is your position on the issue I care most about, and what would change your mind about it?
Why ask it
Name your issue plainly rather than testing them. The second half matters more: a position with no conditions attached is an identity, and it tells you that evidence arriving later will not move them.
How do you decide when most of the district disagrees with you?
Why ask it
Both possible answers are defensible and the reasoning is what counts. Watch for candidates who claim they always follow the district, since it is rarely true and the claim avoids explaining what they would actually weigh.
What would you do if your party leadership asked you to vote against this district?
Why ask it
Ask for a past example rather than a pledge. Someone who has already taken that vote can name it; someone who has not will speak in generalities. Voting records make this one easy to verify after the event.
How do I reach your office with a problem, and who handles casework?
Why ask it
Casework is the part of the job most people eventually need, whether for a permit, a benefit, or a bureaucratic dead end. A named staffer and a working phone number are more use to you over four years than any position on the list.
Where can I find your votes, your calendar, and your spending?
Why ask it
Transparency is easy to claim and simple to test. An official who can tell you the actual page or portal is used to being checked; one who offers to send it to you should be asked to, and then followed up.
If I come back in a year, what should I hold you to?
Why ask it
It ends the exchange with a commitment in their own words, which is far more durable than one you propose to them. Write down what they say along with the date, then return with it, because almost nobody does.
Getting an Answer Worth Having
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before the Event
Look up the record for twenty minutes
Votes, minutes, and campaign finance filings are public in most jurisdictions and easier to search than people expect. Arriving with one specific vote or one budget line changes how the answer comes back, because it signals that whatever you are told will be checked.
Bring one concrete case
A single street, a specific bus route, a named school, or your own bill puts the conversation somewhere it cannot be generalised. Abstract questions about priorities get abstract answers; a pothole with an address gets a staffer's phone number.
Write your question as one sentence
Most questions from the floor are three questions with a speech in front of them, and the politician answers whichever part is easiest. Cut it to one sentence ending in a question mark, and rehearse saying it out loud once.
Find out how the format works
Some town halls collect written questions and screen them, some run a queue at a microphone, some cap answers at ninety seconds. Knowing which one you are attending decides whether you should arrive early, write it down, or plan a follow-up.
In the Room
- Ask for a number and a date. "How many units, and by when?" is much harder to deflect than "what is your plan for housing?"
- If the answer is about a different question, say so once, politely, and repeat your question in the same words. Audiences notice, and so does the person answering.
- Do not make a speech. The moment your turn becomes a statement, the reply becomes a thank you and the microphone moves on.
- Write down the answer as it is given. Recollection of a forum answer three months later is worth very little; a quote with a date is worth a lot.
- If a staffer takes your question for later, get their name and their email before you sit down. Questions handed over without a name do not come back.
How These Exchanges Get Wasted
Accepting "I will look into that"
It ends the exchange and commits to nothing. The useful reply is to ask who in the office will look into it and when you should expect to hear, which converts a brush-off into something you can chase.
Asking a question that has a yes or no answer
"Do you support better schools?" gets a yes and tells you nothing. Questions beginning with how, what specifically, or how much cannot be answered with agreement alone.
Arguing about national politics
A local official has no influence over federal policy, and the argument uses up the one chance you had to ask about something they control. Save the national questions for the candidate who will actually vote on them.
Going alone when the issue affects a group
One person asking about a drainage problem is a complaint. Six neighbours asking the same question, with photographs and dates, is a constituency. Officials allocate attention accordingly, and it is not personal.
Afterwards
- Send the same question by email the next day, referencing the event, and keep the reply. Written answers are the ones that get honoured.
- Follow up after thirty days if nothing arrives. A polite second email with the original attached works more often than it should.
- Share what you were told with neighbours or a local group. Answers that only one person heard are easy to walk back.
- Check the vote when it happens. Comparing what was said at the forum with the recorded vote is the whole of accountability, and it takes ten minutes.