[EL] ELB News and Commentary 11/6/14

[John Tanner]

The lesson seems to be that such spending is self-defeating.  

I presume Chevron's spending flowed from perceived threats from “green” candidates to Chevron’s very large oil refinery in Richmond (and that the  green opposition flowed from perceived threats from Chevron’s very large oil refinery)


On Nov 6, 2014, at 1:05 AM, Lorraine Minnite <lminnite at gmail.com> wrote:

> What does this example demonstrate about corporations openly sponsoring candidates in elections (other than the obvious point that money does not always determine the winner)?  As I recall much of the debate on this list in the aftermath of the Citizens' United decision, especially, opponents of campaign finance regulations argued that corporations would not do what Chevron has done here because direct sponsorship was too risky, it could damage the corporate brand.  Were they thinking that a city council race was too far under the radar for detection (or relevance)?  Call me naive but I am astonished at the fact that a huge, multi-international would feel so threatened by a city council race in an economically depressed city they'd throw $3 million at it.
> 
> Lori Minnite
> 
> 
> Posted in election administration, pedagogy
> “Chevron Spends Big, And Loses Big, In A City Council Race”
> Posted on November 5, 2014 8:33 pm by Rick Hasen
> NPR:
> 
> Early returns indicated the progressives’ grass roots strategy would be successful. By the end of election night, Butt had captured the mayor’s race with more than 51 percent of the votes cast, and the Chevron-backed candidate, City Councilman Nat Bates, garnered just over 35 percent.
> 
> As a distraught Bates told the Richmond Confidential, “It’s a bloodbath, obviously. I think the citizens will suffer.”
> 
> Butt, who had accused Chevron of trying to buy the Richmond Council election, was ecstatic over his David versus Goliath victory.
> 
> “To take on a campaign that’s funded with $3 million and our modest campaign budget was about $50,000,” he said, “but we had a lot of grassroots help and we pulled it off.”
> 
> 
> 
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