More Campaigns $
[ Excerpt from an editorial by Travis Armstrong of the SBN-P, 5/30/2006, entitled "Candidates and Dollars" ]
... in the midst of a campaign, the top money-raisers will get mentioned high up in stories detailing the latest round of donations. Campaign managers think voters will see all the money raised as a sign of strength that suggests their particular candidate is a front-runner.
But this way of thinking only discourages grass-roots... campaigns...
... we're concerned about the amount of money that local candidates take in, particularly from people or interests that have immediate business before an elected body. In the 2nd District county supervisor's race, for example, candidate Das Williams has accepted $12,000 from the Service Employees International Union, which negotiates with the supervisors over pay and benefits for hundreds of county workers.
And big checks can make up a bulk of a candidate's donations. Supervisor candidate Janet Wolf, in the latest reporting period covering mid-March to mid-May, collected nearly $113,000 in cash donations. Of this, $75,000 came from just six individuals or groups, including $40,000 from public employee unions.
Developer money appears a factor. One $5,000 check came from an individual described on the Internet as having assembled a "track record in the development of high-end master planned communities, coastal ranch properties, premier resorts and commercial properties." Another $5,000 check was from a housing and commercial developer based in Riverside County.
Yet the Wolf campaign also demonstrates the problem of trying to limit donations to candidates because third parties still could spend whatever they please.
Rep. Lois Capps has been pouring money into the Wolf campaign from the congresswoman's political war chest, which has collected a half-million dollars in the latest cycle. An incumbent in a gerrymandered seat, Mrs. Capps on her own has the ability, if she wanted, to spend lavishly on many local candidates -- all from federal donations.
Ms. Wolf on the most recent disclosure forms lists $9,876 in "nonmonetary contributions" by the Capps organization for "media/printing/mail/television." But wouldn't the real-world figure be much higher than this?
For example, one Capps commercial appears solely meant to push Ms. Wolf's election bid. Yet a Capps campaign staffer says: "We have been advised by the FEC that 50 percent of the cost of our recent mailings and television ads should be reported as an in-kind contribution to Janet Wolf for supervisor."
...
Santa Barbara News-Press
... in the midst of a campaign, the top money-raisers will get mentioned high up in stories detailing the latest round of donations. Campaign managers think voters will see all the money raised as a sign of strength that suggests their particular candidate is a front-runner.
But this way of thinking only discourages grass-roots... campaigns...
... we're concerned about the amount of money that local candidates take in, particularly from people or interests that have immediate business before an elected body. In the 2nd District county supervisor's race, for example, candidate Das Williams has accepted $12,000 from the Service Employees International Union, which negotiates with the supervisors over pay and benefits for hundreds of county workers.
And big checks can make up a bulk of a candidate's donations. Supervisor candidate Janet Wolf, in the latest reporting period covering mid-March to mid-May, collected nearly $113,000 in cash donations. Of this, $75,000 came from just six individuals or groups, including $40,000 from public employee unions.
Developer money appears a factor. One $5,000 check came from an individual described on the Internet as having assembled a "track record in the development of high-end master planned communities, coastal ranch properties, premier resorts and commercial properties." Another $5,000 check was from a housing and commercial developer based in Riverside County.
Yet the Wolf campaign also demonstrates the problem of trying to limit donations to candidates because third parties still could spend whatever they please.
Rep. Lois Capps has been pouring money into the Wolf campaign from the congresswoman's political war chest, which has collected a half-million dollars in the latest cycle. An incumbent in a gerrymandered seat, Mrs. Capps on her own has the ability, if she wanted, to spend lavishly on many local candidates -- all from federal donations.
Ms. Wolf on the most recent disclosure forms lists $9,876 in "nonmonetary contributions" by the Capps organization for "media/printing/mail/television." But wouldn't the real-world figure be much higher than this?
For example, one Capps commercial appears solely meant to push Ms. Wolf's election bid. Yet a Capps campaign staffer says: "We have been advised by the FEC that 50 percent of the cost of our recent mailings and television ads should be reported as an in-kind contribution to Janet Wolf for supervisor."
...
Santa Barbara News-Press
Posted by Malcolm on
5/30/2006
Subscribe to RSS Feed
0 Comments
Post a Comment
Links
Create a Link
<< Home