We are almost a year away from the 2018 California primary elections. Most Californians enjoy the respite of an off-election year but, to those of us involved in electoral politics, this is when would be candidates beckon for help and/or endorsements.
Here is the primary condition of the year for me; VIDEO. Signed pledges are worth as much as the paper they are on. I want to watch you on video:
1- If you promise to never raise taxes, I want you on video with Carl DeMaio.
2-If you promise to support the Second Amendment, I want you on video with Michael Schwartz.
3- If you support enforcement of federal immigration law, I want you on video with Jeff Schwilk
4- If you want to run as a Pro-Life candidate, get on video with your priest or pastor.
Here is the secondary condition of the year for me; MONEY. If you are running for office, and you haven’t raised 5 percent of the money required to win your election from friends and family by June 30, 2017, you have no business asking strangers to support you with donations. Let me be as clear as I can with that; you need to have support from the people that have known you most or all of your life, before you ask me or my friends for money. Here is a good guideline:
1- For Statewide races, you’ll need to have at least $200,000 raised by June 30, 2017.
2- For Countywide races, you’ll need to have at least $50,000 raised by June 30, 2017.
3- For Congress, State Assembly, or County District races, you’ll need to have $25,000 raised by June 30, 2017.
4- For City of San Diego races, you will need to have $15,000 raised by June 30, 2017.
5- For all other races in the rest of the cities, you will need to have $5,000 raised by December 31, 2017.
If you’re not on video (or unwilling to go on video) about the issues, I just don’t believe you. I hope you prove me wrong but I don’t consider you strong on that issue if you aren’t on video with someone I respect, about that issue. Expect me to ask you why you won’t go on video, in public, during your campaign.
If you can’t raise the requisite funds by the cut off dates, you are not a viable candidate, you are a vanity or “placeholder” candidate.
A placeholder candidate is someone who is running to “represent the GOP brand” in an overwhelmingly Democratic district. (Think 78th AD or 51st CD). A placeholder candidate has no serious chance of winning but is worthy of support for his/her efforts. A vanity candidate, however, is running to advance his or her name, or to promote their business to “feel good”. It’s a free country so I wish you the best in that pursuit but, if you expect volunteers and donors to support you, you have to convince your family and close friends to stake you.
Comments 4
Great analysis Brian. I think this applies not only to San Diego county but all local, congressional, assembly, and state senate seats in California not to mention statewide office. Specifically the county parties and committees in Riverside, Los Angeles and Orange should have been looking for candidates for the 60th, 65th, and 66th assembly districts by December 1st. Things like this are just one of many problems for the party in this state and why it’s in the pathetic shape it’s in.
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I think that far too much blame is placed on Republican county committees . The counties are huge in California and the electorate or center-left to far left in most counties. What this means is that it takes a very special person to run for office.
I broke it candidates down into three categories:
1- Vanity– county committees can coexist with them…carefully.
2- Placeholders– county committees should encourage and try to fund them
3- Serious candidates– county committees should explain that a precondition of party help is that we expect them to help raise money for placeholders
Hi Brian. Just got on SD Rostra after several months of being inactive. (Broke leg April 7, still recovering from the surgery). I have 4 points.
1st – you are spot on as to going on video with your stated principles.
2nd – you are spot on as to getting contributions from friends and family 1st. If they have no confidence in you, why should the voter?
3rd – But I was hoping to read about you encouraging lots and lots of conservatives to step up for one of the 800 seats now held by Democrats(***).
Unless I missed it, not once, did I ever hear Tony Krvaric or his other leaders put out the call for action to the people who attend the Republican monthly meetings. Like me, most others probably had no idea that these many seats were available. I do not understand why that information was not given out and volunteers recruited to run for those seats. All I hear about are the major seats. That is why we have a Democrat city/county.
I heard we have the government we deserve, so true, sad.
4th – Republicans need more than just Republican and NPP voters to win. They need bi-partisan votes from parents, grandparents, teachers, veterans, etc. We have a severely divided nation. I believe that my solution (a topic for another column), if implemented, would effectively change the entire country in one year. The Republicans running should really get a copy and start talking about how to heal our city, county, nation NOW !
(***) Heard this at an Eagle Forum meeting. The 2016 San Diego County election – 800 seats were won by Democrats, mostly by default with no Republican running.
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RE #3: “But I was hoping to read about you encouraging lots and lots of conservatives to step up for one of the 800 seats now held by Democrats(***).”
That’s just not true. There are some 1000 elected seats in the County and Republicans hold a majority of them because….
“Unless I missed it, not once, did I ever hear Tony Krvaric or his other leaders put out the call for action to the people who attend the Republican monthly meetings. ”
You did miss it. Tony et al do a great job getting the word out and “begging” Republicans to run for these seats. They mentioned it in a few meetings prior to the filing date in 2016. They sent out emails. Tony and TJ called me (among others) to ask Republicans to run for those seats.
I hope people understand that, while you may not be a serious candidate for Congress today, you can be one tomorrow by serving on a planning commission, city council, or regional board