Save Newport Real News in Newport Beach
All,
THANK YOU.
The massive amount of support for my campaign has been overwhelming. It is amazing and truly humbling beyond words… but it also creates some unique problems!
I did a ton of research and found out that for a city of about 87,000 people, 200 was the number of signs that were “recommended” by the professionals– and they were the ones who were trying to sell signs, so I figured that number would be high, not low. I bought 200 signs, and in under two weeks, we have only about a dozen left, and I have dozens of more houses and businesses who want signs immediately.
Lots of people ask where the money goes when it is raised for a campaign. I’ll outline a few: Slates (aka topical mailers) are the biggest cost, coming in this period at about $16,000. In a great streak of both luck and skill, we have managed to take the slates from both of my opponents! (I don’t have a campaign manager, so I have 2x the spending power of my opponents when matched dollar for dollar). With this and a few other items coming out, we can expect about 180,000 pieces of mail coming out to our city of 87,000 people, 55,000 voters, and 25,000 people who turn out to vote. Reaching people through the mailbox during a presidential year is imperative, and that has been our biggest expense by far. Sadly, for city council, it’s the low-information voters who usually tip the election. As you all follow the local politics through various news sources (including right here), that doesn’t mean you– but it does mean I need your help! Talk to your friends and neighbors about my campaign. Tell them that you don’t like the ideas of stripping property rights, shutting down local businesses, raising taxes, or violating Prop13.
Another big expense are the 3×8 cards explaining who I am and what I want to change, along with the business cards that many of you have received. Finally: the yard signs (and the stakes!)– The signs we have been putting up have been going faster than anyone could have anticipated by even the most optimistic measures– and that’s actually creating a problem because of a sign shortage.
I think by the end of this campaign we will have put out at least double the recommended amount of yard signs, but first we need to re-load. A new order will cost just shy of $800, and we really need to get some more signs in ASAP. So if you are able to donate $20, $50, $100– or even the total amount of $800– that would be tremendously appreciated. You can do it online right here: http://savenewport.com/donate
Thank you to everyone who has supported me. I’ve put $2,000 of my own money into the campaign and while law prohibits anyone (aside from the candidate themselves) from donating more than $1,100, I would greatly appreciate the most you could spare. This election means a lot to Newport, as it has the potential of either forfeiting our city to a single campaign manager, or providing a seat to someone who will stand strong for what is right.
Thank you all again for the tremendous outpouring of support. Let’s do this!
