Political Payoff: No money? No endorsement

[Cheshire Cat]

Note from Jerry Holland from his FB page:

Today is the Last Day for Voters to Register to Vote for the March 24th First Unitary Election. Citizens must register at least 29 days before any election, February 23, 2015 to be eligible to vote in this First Unitary Election. Voters can pick up a voter registration application at one of our office, at any regional branch library or by visiting Duvalelections.com.
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[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

GUEST COLUMN
MONEY TALKS IN THE ENDORSEMENT PROCESS



A candidate for Jacksonville City Council says you shouldn't have to raise a bunch of money for your ideas to be taken seriously

Posted: Wednesday, February 25, 2015 1:22 pm
Jason Tetlak


Up until about a year ago, I was just another average voter. I'd never worked on a campaign or run for office, and I assumed, like many people do, that the endorsement process was in place to help educate voters like me on which candidates most closely aligned with my core values. Now that I am running for office, I'm learning more and more each day how that isn't necessarily the case, and how money influences politics more than most people realize.

When I'm out meeting voters, people routinely talk to me about what they refer to as the "good ol' boys network," and how politics is just for people who are part of some mysterious group of people already in power who are helping each other stay in charge. They tell me how politics is off-putting and how it discourages people from voting because there is a sense that you have to "play ball" in order to get anywhere. The truth is, when people do step up to try to change that perception and offer a different choice for how things should be done, they're shot down without ever being considered by many people, specifically for not fitting in with the typical mold of how a politician should look.

I came out strongly against how money influences our local politics, and early on swore off taking money for my campaign because I believe that things need to change. People told me I needed money to win, but what I'm finding out now is that candidates really need money to even be taken seriously at all.

Most organizations offering endorsements for our local elections have created their own ways of determining if a candidate is a viable choice, and more often than not, that threshold for viability revolves around how much money a candidate has raised. I had always just assumed that if an organization I trusted and respected endorsed a candidate, then that candidate shared the views of the organization. What I've found out is that often, that isn't the case. A lot of otherwise great organizations simply endorse the candidate who has the most money or who raised enough money to satisfy some financial metric they've created, so people can essentially be tricked into voting for someone with values they don't support.

There are many groups, unions and organizations whose endorsements have been announced recently who never even interviewed or contacted me or candidates like me who have little or no money in their campaign accounts.

The newly formed Young Voters Coalition, a group focused on getting young voters more engaged in politics, in part by "endorsing like-minded City Council candidates," has a minimum threshold of dollars that a candidate needs to raise in order to be considered viable. Even the Sierra Club, which has endorsed candidates who support dredging the St. Johns River, cited a candidate's "chances of winning" as a major factor in whom they endorse.

I bring up these specific organizations not to defame them, but because I think it is important to let the voters know the real reasons organizations endorse candidates. For example, if I saw a candidate at Equality Florida events, marching in the pride parade, coming out as a straight ally, and celebrating wedding ceremonies in Hemming Plaza, but then saw that Equality Florida had endorsed his opponent (an opponent who actually voted against a fully inclusive human rights ordinance when he had the chance), then I'd be confused. I'd wonder what's going on. Equality Florida's main goal is to pass an inclusive HRO, and they didn't even endorse James Eddy, the only openly gay candidate running, because they didn't consider him "financially viable." It all seems very counterintuitive, if you ask me.

I think these groups are great organizations, with great missions and great people. I just think it's sad that the system essentially forces them to endorse someone who may not completely represent their mission simply because money is the only way to determine if a candidate is "viable."

I didn't raise funds for my campaign because I saw it as extremely wasteful and because I don't want to owe anyone any favors when I get elected, but the system we have in place makes it unnecessarily difficult for regular citizens to run for office, even on a local level. You run because you want to make a difference and then find out that you really do have to buy your way in. Then we all wonder why things are the way they are.

I still think people should donate money to these causes instead of to my campaign. Your money will do a lot more good there than buying me 10,000 "Vote for Tetlak" buttons, or an advertisement for a book I wrote, or whatever else candidates waste their money on these days. I just think it's important for people to know that an endorsement, even from these great organizations, may not mean exactly what you think it does. It truly is up to voters to know for whom they are voting — otherwise we'll just end up getting stuck with even more of the same.

The author is a candidate for Jacksonville City Council, District 14.

http://folioweekly.com/MONEY-TALKS-IN-THE-ENDORSEMENT-PROCESS,12118

[spuwho]

So basically lend your campaign  $10k, then you can go around and say "I have raised $10 thousand dollars so far" and when the campaign is over, pay the loan back.

Its not uncommon for candidates to lend to themselves to burnish the war chest, but in this case its to get your foot in the collective door.

I feel your pain and agree that elections should be about ideas and the ability to lead amd less so about money and influence. But American politics have been hand in hand with money since the Revolution  Any acquisition of political power is usually not free.

[Cheshire Cat]

^This happens in several camps.  Candidate Garrett Davis loaned his campaign $8000.00 for example.  Kimberly Daniels loaned her campaign $50,000.00 initially then added another another $7,000.00 in during another cycle.  Financial shell game.

[Jtetlak]

@spuwho, so then only people who can afford to lend their campaign $10k+ should get to run for office? Some people working hard to make Jacksonville a better place are not independently wealthy, so writing a check that large isn't possible. Money (and those with access to it) has been running the show for years and look where it has gotten us. IMO, voters should base their votes on the individual candidates and their ideas, not on who has raised the most money or who has the most endorsements.

[spuwho]

@spuwho, so then only people who can afford to lend their campaign $10k+ should get to run for office? Some people working hard to make Jacksonville a better place are not independently wealthy, so writing a check that large isn't possible. Money (and those with access to it) has been running the show for years and look where it has gotten us. IMO, voters should base their votes on the individual candidates and their ideas, not on who has raised the most money or who has the most endorsements.

I think I was agreeing with you, so no worries there. And I wouldn't expect one to spend the money you lent yourself. Just use it to show you have something while you follow your principles. $10k was an example and definitely not the standard.

What about "in-kind" donations? Not cash, but someone who agrees with your direction on reducing the money component and supplying the needed materials? Are you good with that, or do you consider that the same?

Also of note, typically when running under a party apparatus you have to "pay some dues" to the apparatus before they will consider you as someone they want to support. If you run as an Independent, then there is no apparatus to support (you or them), you have to build those relationships one day and one person at a time. Lots of door to door and lots of handshaking in public spaces. Going to community and neighborhood meetings. Visit lots and lots of churches, synagogues or mosques. Meet all the old folks drinking coffee at the McDonalds for the morning gab, or better yet, hit all of the nursing/retirement homes and introduce yourself.  Word of mouth is a powerful election tool.

Sometimes elections can be a way to get name recognition for the future. You may not win this time, but people will see you on the ballot and remember you the next time you run. Essentially this election will position you better for the next one, what ever office of service you choose to pursue.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Also of note, typically when running under a party apparatus you have to "pay some dues" to the apparatus before they will consider you as someone they want to support. If you run as an Independent, then there is no apparatus to support (you or them), you have to build those relationships one day and one person at a time. Lots of door to door and lots of handshaking in public spaces. Going to community and neighborhood meetings. Visit lots and lots of churches, synagogues or mosques. Meet all the old folks drinking coffee at the McDonalds for the morning gab, or better yet, hit all of the nursing/retirement homes and introduce yourself.  Word of mouth is a powerful election tool.

Funny you post this Spu.  I read this comment a few minutes after checking FB and seems like you might be on to something:

DUVAL DEMS DISOWN DISTRICT 14 CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE FOR SUPPORTING BILL BISHOP

February 25, 2015  By A.G. Gancarski   

The drama started on February 19, when Richard Shieldhouse emailed Party Chair Neil Henrichsen to alert him to Tetlak's apostasy.

"Jason tells me he is supporting Bill Bishop for Mayor", claimed the longtime Democratic activist, "largely because of his vote on the HRO."

Shieldhouse then wrote that he "can't support a candidate who is effectively working to elect an opponent of our incumbent Democratic Mayor."

"While I wish Mayor Brown would take a position on equal rights," he continued, "I understand why he would avoid doing that for political reasons."

Those "political reasons", in the eyes of some, have to do with a play for Tea Party conservative support.

Shieldhouse then went on to reestablish the Herman Cain/Bill Bishop connection, then linking that to tacit support of Clarence Thomas on the Court and "all of the implications that has for fair and equitable rulings."

Shieldhouse then posited the fair and equitable question: "Is [Tetlak] a member? If so, he should be tossed out."

District 14 Vice-Chair Elaine Burnett then added fuel to the fire under Tetlak's ambitions as a Democratic candidate. "Jason is on his own" in this campaign, where he's raised less than $3k (by choice, as he has eschewed fundraising) so far against an incumbent who has many times that amount in his coffers. "I am sorry that the only person we had running is someone who thought so little of our efforts," she added.

District 14 Chair Bob Dorn followed up those messages with an ultimatum to the candidate.

"At the DCDEC monthly meeting this last Monday (Feb 16), the Chair of the Duval Democratic Party nail [SIC] us to the wall for supporting you in any kind of way, in your support of Bill Bishop for Mayor."

Dorn asked Tetlak to "with draw [SIC] your name, in all types of media, in your support of Bill Bishop for Mayor" so that the Party can continue to support him, such as it is.

We contacted Tetlak — and he's not budging.

"I don't really mind if they run me out of the party for voicing my opinions. That is their right and not something I am really concerning myself with," Tetlak emailed.

"I have been asked several times to backtrack and support Mayor Brown," the candidate continued, adding that Brown "unfortunately has failed to support members of the LGBT community or make a stand on the issue of the HRO and courthouse weddings, so I can't in good conscience say he is the best choice for leading our city forward.

"I have no plans to do anything about what the Duval Dems are discussing internally, I'm focused on doing what is right for Jacksonville and the residents of District 14," he concluded, adding that he feels no ill will toward "the party or its members".

The beneficiary of this scrum? Incumbent Jim Love and the Duval County Republican Party. It doesn't appear anyone minds that much.

[Jtetlak]

I have actually accepted a small number of in-kind donations. The point of my stance on not taking cash was to show that running for office doesn't take a lot of money, that everyday citizens can be more engaged in the decision making process, and that people who have extra cash to give should donate it to any of a number of non-profit groups who are working hard to make Jacksonville a better place rather than giving it to politicians who will waste it on yard signs and smear ads.

[Jax native]

The fact thats this is so disturbing and not unexpected hit me.

[ProjectMaximus]

So basically lend your campaign  $10k, then you can go around and say "I have raised $10 thousand dollars so far" and when the campaign is over, pay the loan back.

And even give yourself a return with interest

[Cheshire Cat]

So basically lend your campaign  $10k, then you can go around and say "I have raised $10 thousand dollars so far" and when the campaign is over, pay the loan back.

And even give yourself a return with interest

They can't charge interest on their own loans.  They can only take out the loan amount itself.  However if it were legal you bet many would do it.  lol