I agree with that, but I think he was basically talking to the laypersons in the room. There were only two clergy there, but numbers is not the issue. It's a lot easier for laypersons to convince other laypersons to vote for them. The laity take a more business-like attitude toward the politics of the church. They ask, "Who wants to go? What are you for?" Then they say, "Let's get 'er done."
It takes a whole extra day for Conference in years we elect delegates because the clergy elections take so long. There are favors to call in, old scores to settle, egos to massage, etc. We know each other too well, and too often, familiarity breeds contempt.
I ran for General Conference once. I think I got 4-5 votes on the first ballot and then disappeared once we were done paying compliments and got down to the serious business of grinding through the ballots. I was disappointed that I didn't rate higher than that, but then I told myself that the Conference clergy didn't see me in that role. Plenty of people, I think, appreciated my leadership in Scouting Ministry; but there were other people they saw in that high-profile political role. If I had wanted to earn their trust for that, I should have joined a caucus group, worked to get known for serious commentary on the future of our Church, been nicer to people, etc. etc. All of which is still no guarantee that anybody's going to vote for you, but they sure not going to vote for people who won't put some sweat equity into seeking the votes.
After Gil asked us all to consider running, I asked myself, would I still want to go? And the answer came back, Probably not. It's a lot of hard work and hassle. Still, I guess this is my fleece I'm putting outside the tent, Lord. If at least five clergy voting members of my Conference will reply to this post with the promise to consider voting for me, I'll put my papers in to run. If I can't get that much support from even my friends who read these posts, then there is no point bothering the Conference with my candidacy.
And what would be my platform? Adherence to the ancient Faith. Reform of the bureaucracy. Equal empowerment for the Central Conferences. Accountability of bishops. Promotion and renewal of CSYA/Scouting Ministries in the life of the Church. And, of course, I would promise to wear funny hats and scout t-shirts as well as cook gourmet meals for my fellow delegation members.