Saturday, November 3, 2007

Campaign Spending

The October 31, 2007 issue of Hilliard Northwest News included a story on campaign spending. It correctly pointed out that I did not submit a pre-election campaign report. The story also correctly noted that a pre-election campaign report is not required if the candidate neither raises nor spends $1,000 or more.

My campaign spending was this: $225.78 for yard signs and $497.36 for 1,000 campaign flyers. And although I started publishing http://www.savehilliardschools.org/ and this blog well before deciding to run for the School Board, it is probably appropriate to include the $4.16 per month I pay for my hosting accounts for the two months since I filed as a candidate. All in, my spending has been $731.46.

It was interesting to see who contributed to the other candidates. Mr. Hammond is clearly the candidate of the Hilliard political community, with his largest contributors including Mayor Schonhardt ($500), State Rep. Larry Wolpert, City of Hilliard Service Director Butch Seidel, Judge Charles Schneider, and Hilliard Councilman Brett Scioto.

Mr. Lundregan's contributions included many well-known community volunteers with whom he and I have both served on the Hilliard Education Foundation.

The bulk of Mr. Maggied's funding was in the form of a loan.

I solicited no donations, and paid for the signs and flyers out of my own pocket.

I have to admit being a little envious when, while passing out flyers in one neighborhood, I saw a guy who was distributing flyers for both Mr Maggied and Mr Lundregan simultaneously. Since these two are the candidates endorsed by the teachers' union - the Hilliard Education Association - I expect this guy was a union member, or a someone hired by the union.

From my days in a marketing role, I remember this adage vividly: Half of all advertising dollars are wasted - the challenge is figuring out which half.

It's easy to spend a lot of money on a marketing campaign. With a projected 25% voter turnout, few people who saw any of the signs, flyers, etc will follow through at the polls. Spending more money will not change that materially.

My hope is that there are enough people in the community who know me; whom you have spoken to about me; who have read the website, blog and flyers; who understand that my intention is to be anything but yet another standard issue Board member; and who will get out and vote in sufficient numbers to entrust me with a seat on the Board of our community's most important institution.

Next Tuesday, please cast your vote for PAUL LAMBERT.

7 comments:

  1. Thanks for the offer C (I didn't leave your comment up because it contained your address).

    All the signs are up. Interestingly, many of the signs which were put at intersections in Norwich township were taken down. I'm assuming it was the guy who mows the grass along the road for the township.

    I'm not saying there are dirty tricks going on, but it seems like they could have waited until Tuesday at least...

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  2. Wow... I just got an automated campaign phone call for Dick Hammond. I wonder how much it costs to make a boatload of those?

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  3. Well, you deserved to win anyway. You should run again at the next opportunity since your name recognition will be higher and the Hilliard populace will have finally awakened to how bad the board is because by then we'll be in a fiscal crisis. Voter apathy only is overcome by crisis.

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  4. TS:

    Thanks for the support. The effort to educate the community started well before I decided to run for the Board, and will continue now as we enter a very challenging time. Looking forward to continued dialog.

    PL

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  5. Not surprisingly, the teacher's union candidates won. This election had all the drama of the old Soviet elections.

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  6. There is a victory in all of this - the votes sent my way probably contributed to Dick Hammond's defeat. In spite of what was probably record spending for a Hilliard school board candidate(did you get one of his 8.5x11" two sided full color glossy mailers?), Hammond lost.

    Dave Lungregan is a good man and a friend, and I look forward to supporting him. While he had the support of the teachers' union, he understands that they cannot keep getting 8% annual raises and fully-paid healthcare if we want our district to remain solvent.

    Still lots of work to be done! There is a real danger that Bradley High School will be completed on schedule, but we'll be without funds to operate it unless this next levy passes. And unless the Board really works to gain community trust in the next few months, passage of that levy will be a challenge.

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  7. There is a real danger that Bradley High School will be completed on schedule, but we'll be without funds to operate it unless this next levy passes.

    I think this needs to happen. However draconian, I think the district has to experience the pain other districts have suffered because there seems no other way to undercut the arrogance of this school board.

    I recall Lee Iacoca taking $1 in salary when Chrysler was going down the tubes. Sure it was symbolic. Sure it had no impact on the bottom line. But it was inspiring and it also was an example of leadership. He was willing to feel a little pain for the good of the company. You got the sense that they were in it together.

    But our teachers union and administrators are completely oblivious to fiscal reality. Meanwhile my senior citizen neighbor might have to move due to increased property taxes. If my neighbor and I are going to feel the pinch, administrators ought lead the way.

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