Trial by Fundraising

Dear Candidates,

If you do not have at least 250K at your disposal, please kindly go to the back of the line until you can find enough people to give you a lot of money.  Sadly, we (people in the know) all admit it privately- this is the yardstick as to how we measure viability as a "horse in this race".  We like to start out fundraising letters to prospective donors with comparisons of how much money we've gotten from voters or corporations compared to our clearly- well you know…

Money begets money which begets endorsements… which begets more money… and this is a GOOD THING.

Never mind if you don't want it- or that it makes your stomach turn to think what candidates do with these millions of dollars during election time.  Wait- it's for those tacky postcards that attack your fellow candidates and inane "paid for" "approved by me" commercials on television that everyone now records and skips with their DVR? The ones that if they happen to accidentally see it, they want to poke their eyes out, or break out into a cold sweet when they can't find the remote to turn it off?

But you see, clearly slow- to- understand candidate, this is what works.  Every time.  So we keep doing it this way.

And when it is all over, what do we have to show for it?  How much have we collectively spent- on what exactly?  It certainly doesn't go to those who need it.  In fact, it goes to funding things that voters clearly despise.

p.s.  I still can't find an actual job description of a Congressperson.  But I'm told it now has a to do with fundraising.  So perhaps this makes sense…trial by fundraising.  Forget the national debt, and other pressing issues.  Fundraise and support your funders to keep your job so you can do the same thing again in two years.

**Yes there is the constitutional description (General and Enumerated Powers) but I'm talking about the day to day description of how these things are done, and where fundraising fits into all of this.  From my view, it seems to be a conflict of interest. 

You can follow Kristie at @DrKristie or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/KristieforCongress

Thank you to UN Women, Knowledge Gateway for giving me the opportunity to speak at today's event "Information and Communication Technologies for Women's Empowerment and Poverty Reduction". Liz Ford from the Guardian did an amazing job as moderator.

I was fortunate to be able to spend time with Doris Schapira, to learn more about Campaign Finance Reform and Jill Sen who is working with an inspiring MDG focused clinic in Uganda.

LA Times Article Makes it Official

FULL ARTICLE HERE

Why doesn't one of us run for Congress? It may be another 40 Years!

My adventure is only weeks old. While wandering around in "the District" over the past couple of days gathering signatures, residents and new friends asked me to blog about my experiences so far as they have not only been humorous, but head scratching... and at times, alarming.

I can't be frustrated with others for not caring a whit about politics. The stats create their own story with approval ratings and perceptions of corruption or a rigged system of elections.

I've been teaching in front of a classroom for a while now, and have realized that the best way to engage anyone on the issue is to have a story to tell. I plan to tell my story in an unfiltered way as well as on the move so I welcome typo alerts or corrections if I get something wrong. If I haven't named you and would like me to state your name, let me know. I don't want to imply that anyone endorses me when they really don't. I also apologize if I offend anyone by simply not getting "how it works". This blog is from my own (outside) view and likely in constant flux.

How Much Does it Really Cost to Begin the Process to Run for Office?

If I want to even consider "really" doing this, I have to pay the $1740 filing fee. I worried on this for several days and changed my mind no less than 3 or 4 times. Finally, two men encouraged me to just do this- there was really nothing to lose. Truly, it would be a growing experience. I wrote the check and was told that it was NOT refundable. I put it in my mind as a professional conference fee- surely I will learn as much as I do from attending conferences?

I decide to head to City Hall to do whatever I need to do to file. I make a few phone calls, the website information is confusing. It seems that I have to go all the way to Norwalk. With traffic it took me an hour and a half or so to get there. I wasn't there all that long but it felt like forever. Perhaps it was another unexpected $$$ticker (Sticker) shock plus the requirement for signatures that I didn't know about. 40-60 in the district doesn't sound that bad- but to make sure they are actually registered in the district is not an easy or error free task. You'll find most people are clueless about where they lived the last time they registered. If I understood this part, it is likely I would have not paid the filing fee as these were due at 5pm today. In addition, this district has so many visitors to the area (including tourists and other Southern Californians) 2 out of three that I spoke with were friendly and helpful but from somewhere that wouldn't count.

Norwalk is not the district I needed to be gathering signatures in, so this was clearly a disadvantage with the non- refundable filing fee. I waited for quite a while for them to research my party history (which was pretty close to what I had said above) and researched deadlines for filing on my phone. I saw that if the incumbent doesn't file, you get an additional 5 days, which certianly seems more reasonable.

Meanwhile someone else's campaign guy is cursing out the poor elections clerk about deadlines as loudly as possible. The clerk helping me cringes and thanks me for being nice. She offers up advice for signature gathering- go upstairs and get some voter registration cards so that people can register to sign. I asked her about the 5 day window- which she had forgotten about. Since I am heading to the Commission status on Women on Monday, I need a special form for someone else to drop them off. What if I didn't know to ask these things?

So here is the real kicker in all of this for me. The clerk slides over a final form over to me. I clearly have NO IDEA what this is or what these prices are.

Do you know that little blurb in the sample ballots about candidates that you (hopefully) read before voting to remind you who is who and what they stand for costs $8,600.00 for 250 words maximum, and if you want it in Spanish as well, it is $17,200.00. If you'd like further translation, you get the idea.

And this is all due at the same time. So really, getting your "name on the ballot" for $1740.00 really is not $1740. It is true in a literal sense. $1740 gets your name there (plus the pounding the pavement for a couple of days for signatures that you hope and pray pass muster). But there is no blurb about you in the booklet.

For your name on the ballot with the 250 word blurb in English and Spanish you need to fork over $18,940.

"Article I, § 2, cl. 2, provides that a person may qualify as a Representative if she is at least 25 years old, has been a United States citizen for at least 7 years, and is an inhabitant, at the time of the election, of the State in which she is chosen. The qualifications established for Senators, Article I, § 3, cl. 3, are an age of 30 years, nine years’ citizenship, and being an inhabitant of the State at the time of election." (US Constitution).

A Question of Access Somehow this doesn't seem fair for people who don't happen to have this money on hand, especially on short notice. This seat only came up a few weeks ago. It actually seems to be a locked door for anyone without "means to pay their way". Especially for a seat that came available suddenly after 40 years. Essentially it seems you have to be a well established politician with fundraising mechanisms in place or at the very least an individual with plenty of money on hand.

As a final point for this post, you can jump through all of these hoops, and if you don't meet the signature requirement because the well meaning people who signed for you wrote the wrong address or are a block from the district (many don't know the lines) you are out the money AND the running.  I made sure to get 60 (all lines provided by the clerk) and you have to hope that 40 pass.

You can follow Kristie at @DrKristie or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/KristieforCongress