Money and Politics are like a Hand in Glove

Printed on: Thu, Oct 11, 2007

Donations are part of politics

By Kelvin Wade

"If you can't drink a lobbyist's whiskey, take his money, sleep with his women and still vote against him in the morning, you don't belong in politics." -Jesse Unruh

The late and former California Assembly Speaker Jesse Unruh knew what it took to be a successful politician. I'm reminded of the above aphorism when I think about the hubbub over Fairfield City Council candidate Chuck Timm's fundraising prowess. Timm has raised more than $100,000.

Two of his opponents, Councilman Jack Batson and businessman Steve Kays, and an apparent letter-writing campaign have called into question the large donations Timm has received from MV Transportation and the police union, both having business before the city next year.

The question is fair enough. Large sums of money traditionally buy access. Phone calls from a large donor are going to be returned faster than a call from a constituent.

But does it fit Chuck Timm? Timm has served the city of Fairfield as a police officer for more than 30 years. Is anyone shocked that the Fairfield Police Officers Association endorsed him and cut him a check? That's not news. News would be if they endorsed someone else.

I realize Timm's opponents want to cast his donations in the most negative light possible. That's politics. But why don't they just come out and say that Timm has no integrity instead of skirting the issue? It's a heck of a thing to accuse a 31-year veteran police officer of being bought.

It's cynical because they know Timm is a stand up guy.

Isn't the most likely explanation for the donations that the companies see a candidate who agrees with them on the issues? Isn't that why anyone would contribute to a campaign? Of course, businesses who contribute to campaigns are hoping to elect candidates who are pro-growth just as environmental groups contributing to council candidates are hoping to elect leaders who will limit that growth.

But money isn't going to be the sole determining factor of this election. If money alone won elections then Howard Dean would be president. And Steve Kays would already be on the council.

If a candidate's message is no boys and girls club, a cut in public safety and a moratorium on new businesses coming to Fairfield, they can put a million bucks behind that message and still lose. Without the right candidate and the right message, money's not going to put you over the top.

Would it be wonderful if there were public financing of campaigns and everyone had exactly the same amount to spend? Yes. Then one can guarantee that it's the candidates and their message that sells. The voters have the final say. We get to watch our officials vote. We can apply two standards to their decisions. First, are they primarily guided by what they think is best for Fairfield? Second, do they remember what Unruh said? Peace.

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We can't act surprised that money is a part of politics. In the Fairfield race, incumbent Councilman Jack Batson is raising the money issue against his strongest competitor Chuck Timm. Timm has raised an astounding amount of money for a local Council race. But it's disingenuous. Would Batson or any candidate turn down large sums of money from groups they agree with? If an environmental group wanted to give Batson $10,000, do you think he'd turn it down?

It's up to the voters to stay engaged after electing someone to office. It's up to us to make sure that the people we vote for have our best interests in mind and aren't just tools for lobbyists. Our diligence doesn't stop on election day.

If you polled the public and asked them if they liked corporations and large special interest groups donating to politicians, we would overwhelmingly say no. But at the same time we can probably all identify groups that we approve of. An antiwar individual would love it if Moveon.Org helped influence a political race. A gun nut would love it if the NRA contributed to a candidate who vowed to keep guns legal. A lot of those so called special interests, teachers, police and fire unions, political 527 groups like Moveon.org and advocacy groups like the NRA, are simply made up of a lot of individuals.

How do we eliminate the corruptive, corrosive influence of big money without cutting ourselves out of the action as well?

If we can find a way to publicly finance campaigns and not run afoul of the first amendment, then that's the way to go. Until then, we've gotta play the cards we're dealt.