Show up and Chip in!
As you consider a run for office, it is important that you become (or maintain) a visible and valued presence in community affairs. This means not just showing up and shaking hands, but actively supporting and engaging with the community.
Ways to do this include attending community and organizational events, volunteering for organizations and political campaigns, joining organizational boards, attending campaign fundraising events, and more.
You may want to keep a calendar to remind yourself of key events. The more you engage and participate, the more you will be able to focus in on the issues and organizations that most closely align with your values and the ones that you feel would be a particularly powerful or strategic asset to your campaign. In this way, you may start out with broad but relatively shallow engagement, but soon develop deep connections and relationships with individuals and networks in your community.