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

[JBoppjr at aol.com]

Regarding:
 
 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.
 
What we said is that it would be very rare.  "Reformers" said it would  be 
common place and used examples of business corp independent spending in 
their  scary hypos.  
 
This election has demonstrated that we were right and the "reformers"  
predictions were again flat wrong.  Jim Bopp
 
 
In a message dated 11/7/2014 4:54:29 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
lminnite at gmail.com writes:

 
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_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18) 
, _pedagogy_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=23) 

 
 
_“Chevron Spends Big, And Loses Big, In A City Council  Race”_ 
(http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68079) 
 
Posted  on _November 5, 2014 8:33 pm_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68079) 
 by _Rick  Hasen_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3) 


 
_NPR_ 
(http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/11/05/361875792/chevron-spends-big-and-loses-big-in-a-city-council-race?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campa
ign=politics&utm_medium=social&utm_term=nprnews) : 
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_ 
(http://richmondconfidential.org/2014/11/05/progressives-capture-city-hall-and-council-fending-o
ff-chevron-money/) , “It’s a bloodbath, obviously. I  think the citizens 
will suffer.” 
Butt,  who had accused Chevron of trying to _buy  the Richmond Council 
election_ (http://www.tombutt.com/forum/2014/14-11-02a.html) , 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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