As every election cycle draws to an end, we always hear the call for people to get rid of the current crop of politicians and bring in new ones. Pull out the popcorn and get ready to listen to some old chestnuts: These politicians don’t listen. They’re corrupt. They don’t pay attention to our needs. They don’t even work for us. Let’s vote them out and get in some new blood who’ll work for us.

These are the complaints heard around the country, from moderate Maine to arch-conservative Alaska. Aside from the political arguments for or against one party or another you’ll find the complaints to be remarkably similar when an anti-incumbency mood comes to town.

It’s present in our predominantly blue bay state. The latest Rasmussen Report on the governor’s race indicates that Deval Patrick has 2 point margin over his Republican challenger, Charlie Baker. Thinking back to 2006, Patrick came into office with 56% of the popular vote versus the 35% of his Republican opponent.

There’s been a strong tide of anti-incumbency fever that’s swept the nation since 2008, making an even stronger appearance in the Federal 2010 mid-term elections. How this will play out at the state level is anybody’s guess, but Massachusetts also has an unusually dynamic set of races for statewide offices this year: Governor Patrick is the first full-term governor to run for re-election in the past decade; Treasurer Tim Murray is not seeking re-election as Treasurer to make his own bid for the Governor’s office; Attorney General Martha Coakley faces a Republican challenger, likely in part due to her lackluster performance last January; and Auditor Joe DeNucci is retiring from office after 24 years, leaving his spot open as well.

Despite the anti-incumbency rhetoric that has been Tea Partying around the country, many people still like their own incumbent representatives and officers. Polls have shown major gaps between the percentage of people who want to vote all the bums out and the percentage of people who want their own politicians to leave, in some cases exceeding twenty points. Only the other people’s politicians are bums; theirs are angels.

Incumbency can be problematic. Some politicians do seem to lose connection with their constituents and pay more attention to their donor lists. One political cartoon from the turn of the last century depicted “The Senator from Standard Oil”, for example – hardly somebody who helped the voting public. However, incumbency can also bring something a new person doesn’t have: job experience. Would you rather have your trusted long-term professional do the work for you or an untested amateur who doesn’t know all the little tricks that come with experience?

Ultimately, it comes on how much you back the person currently in the office. Do you like their policies? Have they provided constituent services to you or someone you know? Do they pay attention to you? Will they work for you? Do they work for you? Ted Kennedy was trusted throughout the state. It took time for him to learn how to work through the Senate, but he learned and Massachusetts was the richer for it. Trust takes time to build. He built it.

Please think about who you want in office. Don’t wait until the last minute. The fate of your community and country depends greatly on whether or not you are politically conscious of who you’re voting for.