Are you going to run for CA governor?

July 27, 2003 8:16 PM

Georgy for Governor So I am reading the SF Chronicle on Saturday and there was an article about unusual candidates running for California's recall election for governor. In addition to big name politicians, millionaries and hollywood actors, there's a 19 year old kid, a software developer in silicon valley (who's selling thongs online to finance her campaign) and more... So my thought it... should you or I run for governor? Would there be any chance any one of us could win? Could we harness the power of the web and memes to get a campaign some steam? Would a web-saavy person make for good changes in the office? I just got paid for a freelance project the other day, and so I have $3,500 to spend if I wanted to... wondered what sort of value might be in it even if there was no chance that I could win. Would it just be me telling my grandkids one day that I was on the state's ballot with Arnold Schwarzneggar? What would you see as a positive, worthwhile result from spending $3,500 to be one of the names on the ballot? Curious.
posted by matte (33 comments total)

quonsar for governor
BECAUSE CALIFORNIA DESERVES HIM
posted by quonsar at 8:32 PM on July 27, 2003

Sorry quonsar, but apparently Angelyne is going to run (or so it was reported on the NewsHour.) She is exactly what California needs in this time of crisis.
posted by homunculus at 9:28 PM on July 27, 2003

"quonsar for governor
BECAUSE CALIFORNIA DESERVES HIM"

No, no, no. Negative ads are out; positive, life-affirming ones are in. Howzabout:

quonsar for governor
MICHIGAN WOULD THANK YOU
posted by mr_crash_davis at 9:29 PM on July 27, 2003

If you have absolutely no chance of winning (and let's face it, none of us do), I'm hard pressed to see a legit reason to cough up the $3500 to get on the ballot, unless there was some bizarre financial angle, like you wanted to illegally fundraise and so you viewed the $3500 as a stake in the ground in the hopes that your campaign would generate at the very least $3501 in donations... Or maybe as some sort of money laundering where you could pretend to have spent all your money on promoting your campaign, and thus pay no taxes in 2004...
posted by jonson at 9:34 PM on July 27, 2003

You can get 10,000 voter sigs and avoid the $3,500 fee.
posted by jennak at 10:16 PM on July 27, 2003

Perhaps they could cover that deficit if enough people decide to run.
posted by pmurray63 at 10:25 PM on July 27, 2003

"There is no conventional wisdom," says political scientist Sherry Jeffe, who's covered state politics for 30 years. "This is entirely new to everyone. Right now there is a circus atmosphere that belies how serious it really is."
posted by letitrain at 10:50 PM on July 27, 2003

Steven Colbert's analysis of the situation on the Daily Show was brilliant.
posted by homunculus at 11:07 PM on July 27, 2003

I say if you can afford it, go for it! Videotape every moment, from registering as a candidate to conceding defeat (assuming you lose, of course). Keep a diary, also. It'll make a hilarious documentary when the dust settled. How else can you make a movie for less than four grand?

Demand to be allowed to participate in the candidates' debates, etc. Propose borderline absurd things but keep a totally straight face through it all. Mock the process, in other words.

Need a campaign manager? Email me:
[e-mail]
posted by Cranky Media Guy at 11:16 PM on July 27, 2003

Does anyone know official info online about the requirements for candidates? I've seen conflicting info and want to find the actual source... such things as filing, age & residency requirements, etc.

Thanks.
posted by matte at 11:46 PM on July 27, 2003

I dunno. I'm pretty sure you're just being facetious, cranky guy, but it's that type of attitude, when people follow through on it, that helps convince the elitists who are already in power to make it even harder for the average person to participate in the process in any meaningful way (ie, as an elected member of a major political party). Who wants to deal with a bunch of adolescent pranksters when you're already mired in the daunting task of getting a group of adults with diametrically opposing views to agree on something that's going to affect the entire nation*?

If this election in California results in something totally off the charts, you can bet your ass there will be a flurry of electoral-access-limiting bills passed at all levels of government shortly after.

*This description of the legislative process, of course, only applies pre-November 2002, when there was an actual balance of power to be maintained.
posted by damn yankee at 11:47 PM on July 27, 2003

Matte, call the California Secretary of State.
posted by damn yankee at 11:49 PM on July 27, 2003

Hey Damn Yankee... I am not as worried about that as you are... you know what I am worried about? And there's nothing that anyone running for this special election can really do about it... it's that the doors have been open to something that really will be difficult to shut off... the only reason the recall initiative was really possible is that it only required a percentage of those who voted in the last election and since such a record low number of voters showed up, they only needed what, 900,000 people to sign. Well, if there's a really low turnout for this one, and I think there will be, that sets the bar even lower for the next initiative process and there'll be something, I am sure, regardless of how many "cranky" or 'adolescent pranksters" run.

If I ran, I wouldn't do it for the joke of it (like I think some are). I'd run because this is one of the rare moments where the barrier to entry is so low that it is possible for someone with little money and no support of the political machines to get a chance....

I think that's important to take advantage of if you're worried about the powers that be (the elitists) taking away any chance/voice of the common (wo)man.

My initial campaign focus would be on "Vote No" anyways...
posted by matte at 12:02 AM on July 28, 2003

Don't Blame Me! I Voted for Quonsar
posted by planetkyoto at 12:32 AM on July 28, 2003

According to the California Secretary of State's Candidate Requirements (pdf file), there is a 5-year state residency requirement in the California state constitution, but a footnote declares that the Secy. of State himself believes that it violates the U.S. Constitution. So come on out to California and file, quonsar, if you wanna run. I'll even let you crash in my spare room until election day (but you gotta get your own DSL; cable modems are not available in my neighborhood and right now I'm using NetCheap dial-up).

Of course, there's another candidate I'd support more...
A true Native Son of California and Native Father of MetaFilter...

I mean, c'mon, folks, he has certainly run MeFi better for the last 4 years than Davis has run California...
posted by wendell at 1:59 AM on July 28, 2003

If you've really got the money to spare, I'd say either:
(i) do it, if you've got serious views which you want to express on the issues at stake; or
(ii) give it to one of the candidates who you truly believe could be the solution.

No point if you've got nothing to say or nothing to argue about.
posted by humuhumu at 1:59 AM on July 28, 2003

My Take on the subject...as a Georgian, with the state's first Republican governor....

SPEAK OF THE DEVIL
posted by GT_RULES at 4:56 AM on July 28, 2003

The United States of America: Showing that democracy is a really stupid idea after all!
posted by i_cola at 4:57 AM on July 28, 2003

"...I mean, c'mon, folks, he has certainly run MeFi better for the last 4 years than Davis has run California..."

Yes, because Gray Davis caused 2 wars, Gray Davis caused the dot-com bubble to burst, Gray Davis funded Osama Bin Laden, and of course, Gray Davis caused the energy crises that was caused by deregulation that his Republican predecessor put into place, and was manipulated by the energy companies while they were meeting with Dick Cheney.

But yes, it's all Gray Davis' fault. How could we have missed this.

As Bill Maher would say, "...and the solution is a viennese weightlifter?"
posted by benjh at 5:39 AM on July 28, 2003

"If I can bite the head off a live bat, then I can take a bite out of this f*ing state deficit."

I'd vote for Ozzy. How bad could it be? SHARON!! Oh yeah, there is that I guess.
Maybe Jesse the brain can consult and give some guidance.
Frying pan....fire... how did that go again?
posted by a3matrix at 6:00 AM on July 28, 2003

I've always wanted to see someone enact the "Vote for None of the Above" campaign from Brewster's Millions.

slogan: "We're all assholes!"
posted by scarabic at 6:25 AM on July 28, 2003

"...I mean, c'mon, folks, (Matt) has certainly run MeFi better for the last 4 years than Davis has run California..."

Yes, because Gray Davis caused 2 wars, Gray Davis caused the dot-com bubble to burst, Gray Davis funded Osama Bin Laden, and of course, Gray Davis caused the energy crises that was caused by deregulation that his Republican predecessor put into place..

So you're saying Matt caused 2 wars, the burst-bubble, OBL and the energy crisis????

I knew he was hiding something!

QUONSAR IN 2004!
because a little snark goes a long way
posted by signal at 6:40 AM on July 28, 2003

My brother ran, and won, for office as a Green Party candidate in very-conservative Charlotte/Mecklenburg County, NC. He got the 4th-highest number of votes for a Green Party candidate in the US ever, something like 30,000 votes, and spent $750, which works out to 2.5 cents a vote. He went into the race mostly as a "protest candidate," but then he actually freakin' won, plus got all kinds of press. So I say go for it, matte.
posted by MrMoonPie at 7:09 AM on July 28, 2003

Actually, 36,590 votes and $700.00 (less than 2 cents a vote).
posted by MrMoonPie at 7:11 AM on July 28, 2003

Who wants to deal with a bunch of adolescent pranksters when you're already mired in the daunting task of getting a group of adults with diametrically opposing views to agree on something that's going to affect the entire nation?

Adolescent pranksters, satirists and facetious smart asses are what makes Democracy great! From Voltaire to Quonsar, it is the voice of dissent that keeps those elitists you speak of in check, not vice versa!
posted by Pollomacho at 8:10 AM on July 28, 2003

Oh, and where are these Georgy for Gov. thongs you speak of? I only saw hats and mugs, am I missing something?
posted by Pollomacho at 8:12 AM on July 28, 2003

Afore-mentioned thong.
posted by MrMoonPie at 8:21 AM on July 28, 2003

Not to be confused with the ifow thong.
posted by MrMoonPie at 8:22 AM on July 28, 2003

My bad, I must have over looked it. What, no geek thong?
posted by Pollomacho at 8:24 AM on July 28, 2003

Adolescent pranksters, satirists and facetious smart asses are what makes Democracy great! From Voltaire to Quonsar, it is the voice of dissent that keeps those elitists you speak of in check, not vice versa!

Pollomancho, you miss my point. I'm not speaking of my beliefs, but of the way the power elite view the world -- and how they're likely to react to certain situations. Satire is great. But it doesn't do much to change the world when you can't punch through the electoral system to get a progressive elected.

Witness what happens even when third-party candidates play by the rules (speaking of successful Green Party candidates).
posted by damn yankee at 9:53 AM on July 28, 2003

The elite still cannot be elected without the votes and who do you think speaks to them on a level that they prefer to listen to, Ted Kennedy and Tom Delay or Bart Simpson and Jon Stewart?
posted by Pollomacho at 12:07 PM on July 28, 2003

My brother ran, and won, for office as a Green Party candidate in very-conservative Charlotte/Mecklenburg County, NC

OMG! I voted for your brother -- the first time I voted for a non-Democrat. Actually, I was away from Charlotte (working in DC) during the last month of the election cycle and was still undecided about that office...I called your brother to ask him some questions about his stance on various issues. He returned my call within 10 minutes and answered all of them. I was very impressed. (I didn't even think that you two might be related!)

(BTW -- my mom was running for office in Mecklenburg County too. She raised an enormous amount of money considering she was a first time candidate, but she still lost. More proof for your point, Mr. Moon Pie. )
posted by jennak at 2:10 PM on July 28, 2003

It sounds like Arianna Huffington is probably going to run.

It's not official yet, but she's off and running. That was the message at Arianna Huffington's home in posh Brentwood, Calif., on Sunday afternoon, where several dozen political activists and advisors gathered to hear the author and Salon columnist make her case for jumping into the race to recall California Gov. Gray Davis. The only thing that would keep Huffington out of what is shaping up as an electoral free-for-all would be the sudden entry of a major Democratic rival to Davis -- and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the only likely such 800-pound gorilla, is still rejecting entreaties to rescue the party from the rapidly melting Davis.

"If Feinstein runs, I won't," Huffington told the Sunday gathering. "This campaign is to win, not to be a spoiler and hand the state over to the Republicans."
posted by homunculus at 8:57 PM on July 28, 2003