Council hopefuls get finances in order

DANDY DAN IS DOLLARS AHEAD … in city of Davis politics there seems always to be excessive and sometimes obsessive concern about how much money a candidate for office has raised … this despite the fact individuals can contribute only $100 to the candidate of their choice in any given election, though they are free to contribute $100 each to as many candidates as they wish …

The notion that someone can “buy” an election for $100 — or maybe four times that if he bundles his contribution with that of his spouse and children — is just downright silly … yes, experience tells us that the one who raises the most money generally fares well on election day, but the reason he or she was able to raise so much money in the first place is that they’re generally more popular … after all, in a town as intelligent and politically savvy as Davis, money may buy you some needed exposure in the form of lawn signs and newspaper ads, but it’s unlikely to buy you many votes …

Be that as it may, with the election still months away, Dan Wolk is the runaway leader in the council sweepstakes with more than $13,000 raised … Dan can stop fundraising right now and have enough in his war chest for the entire campaign … heck, at this point his popularity is such that he’s likely to win even if he doesn’t campaign … then again, there are always unforeseen potholes along to the way to just about any elected office, so don’t hire a band for the inaugural ball just yet …

Incumbent Steve Souza has raised $4,335, while newcomer Brett Lee is at $4,200 … incumbent Sue Greenwald has yet to file any financial information, but she won’t have any trouble putting together enough financing in her bid for a fourth term …

DEAR SWEET JULIE … the all-time leader in most bang for the buck was former mayor Julie Partansky, who regularly ran a shoestring campaign and just as regularly clobbered the opposition … Julie proved once and for all that the right candidate doesn’t have to spend piles of money to pull in piles of votes …

THE FAIRER SEX … in learning from this very newspaper how much money the various candidates have raised, I was also able to determine their ages … Wolk is 34, Lee 46 and Souza 56 … but wait a minute, Greenwald’s age is not listed … it remains a state secret … if she wins a fourth term, as expected, I may have to start calling her the Ageless Wonder …

FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA … glad to see the gigantic “OCEAN FEST” at Food4Less in Woodland is selling the ever popular tilapia “Fresh from the sea.” … here’s betting the tilapia offered as part of this sale never tasted salt water … then again, it’s Woodland, so I’ll let this one slide …

WORD FROM THE WISEST … now that Donald Trump told us a couple of weeks ago who we really ought to vote for when it comes to president, we can all go back to concentrating on several pressing local issues … still, it’s nice to have such a public servant doing our thinking for us … unfortunately for The Donald, the voters in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado apparently weren’t listening when he made his big announcement …

SPEAKING OF MITT … since I was among those who felt it prudent for the suddenly fading Romney to release his tax returns, it’s only fair that I release mine … even if I’m not asking anyone to vote for me for the most powerful office in the world …

According to my ace accountant and tax preparer, who follows the letter of every tax law, my “effective” tax rate in 2010 was considerably higher than Mitt’s 13.9 percent rate … but hey, I don’t have a Swiss bank account or investments in the Cayman Islands … still, I’m not worried about the very poor taxpayers like Mitt … we have a safety net to take care of them …

— Reach Bob Dunning at bdunning@davisenterprise.net

Short URL: http://www.davisenterprise.com/?p=136069

Posted by Bob Dunning on Feb 10 2012.
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