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The Corporate Contribution-Free Campaign
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unning a citywide campaign is expensive. Begging friends, family, supporters, and total strangers for cash to run a citywide campaign is a thankless and time-consuming task. Put the two together, and it becomes no surprise that candidates for elected office in D.C.—and just about everywhere else—have been happy to take money from corporations and well-connected contributors over the years. This year, though, at least one candidate has pledged to do exactly the opposite. As part of his nowofficial mayoral run, Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) has promised not to take money from any corporations, much less accept contributions that are bundled together by lobbyists looking for outsize influence in the Wilson Building. Even more specifically, Wells says that the money that fuels his campaign for the city’s highest office will be traceable back to the individuals who gave it. “For every contribution I get, there will be a name on there, someone you can call, a person that’s contributing to our campaign,” he said at his campaign kickoff in mid-May. It is important to remember that this does not prevent Wells from accepting a handful of checks from a single person provided the contributions are made by individuals. Given what happened with Mayor Vince Gray’s 2010 shadow campaign and the persistent concerns that the city’s elected officials are beholden to the developers and corporate interests that fund their campaigns, it’s a smart way for Wells to set himself apart from his competitors, which at this point includes Councilmember Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4), with Councilmember
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by Martin Austermuhle oodles of money, including hefty sums from parking interests and realtors, but only managed a third-place finish. In fact, he scored fewer votes than fellow contender Elissa Silverman, a first-time candidate who did exactly what Wells is doing: she refused corporate campaign contributions. The 2010 mayoral election stands in even starker contrast: incumbent Mayor Adrian Fenty had a $5 million war chest, the biggest in the city’s history, and still couldn’t manage to beat Gray, who only had $1.7 million to work with. Sure, you could say that Gray had the assistance of an illicit $653,000 shadow campaign, but even that money put his total bankroll at half of what Fenty had. Or how about Pete Ross? The furniture magnate dumped $200,000 of his own money in a 2012 bid for one of the city’s unpaid shadow senator seats, but still Councilmember couldn’t manage to unseat incumTommy Wells kicks off bent Michael D. Brown, who raised campaign by pledging to fore go corporate less than a tenth of that amount. conrtributions. Photo: It’s also worth noting that Andrew Lightman. while corporate and bundled contributions—which usually come though—it’s also about message. Will from multiple LLCs registered at the same address and controlled by the it make a difference for him? same people—are an easy way to inflate Money Won’t Buy You Love, fundraising totals, they have the pernicious effect of giving the candidate an Much Less An Election If it seems like Wells could be ham- inflated sense of popularity and politistringing himself in what could be a cal relevance. (It also affects media covtough year-long campaign, consider this: erage: absent reliable polling, we tend money - the presence of lots of it, that to go with money as an indicator of popularity, sometimes mistakenly so.) is - doesn’t win elections. Having to raise small amounts It doesn’t take much digging from more contributors is an importhrough campaign finance reports to tant—albeit time-consuming—way find that the best-funded candidates to build a base. Silverman seemed don’t always come out victorious. In the to prove this point, using her antirecent At-Large special election, Recorporate stance as a means to attract publican contender Patrick Mara raised Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) expected to jump into the race this month. For the first-time citywide contender hoping to become the city’s first white mayor, the pledge to steer clear of the usual campaign finance shenanigans isn’t just about money,
support from progressives and run a lean—though efficient—campaign. All of this is important to Wells. In making his pledge, Wells has said that he’ll only need between $1 million and $1.5 million to run his campaign, generally less than what most mayoral contenders have raised. Still, he insists, that money coming from lots of small contributors will be more powerful than a larger war chest filled with corporate dollars. His exploratory committee’s fundraising offers a hint of what he has in mind: he raised $150,000 from 500 contributors, for an average of $300 per donor.
Money and Message
For Wells, the anti-corporate pledge isn’t only about the money—it’s also about the message. He knows he’s up against a tough contender in Bowser, who isn’t only a proven fundraiser, but has also indicated that she’ll make ethics and integrity one of the key planks of her campaign. In pledging to steer clear of corporate dollars, Wells is trying to drive a wedge between what Bowser—and any other contender that jumps in the race—says and does. His first step has been to challenge those contenders to follow in his footsteps. Last month he launched the “Leadership Challenge,” a pledge under which all candidates for office would decline corporate and anonymous contributions. “It’s the only way the politicians can prove that they haven’t been bought, and that government decisions aren’t for sale to the highest bidder,” he explains. The challenge is squarely aimed at Bowser and Evans, both of whom have benefitted from the largesse of deeppocketed business interests over the years. (Both raised over $300,000 for