First time Diary. I will tell a short story. And then ask for some help.
I am running for office. First time. I am a Down Ballot. I am running as the Independent (NonParty) Candidate for Ohio House of Representatives District 1. There is no Democrat on the ballot. The District is R+16, and the GOP will win 75% of the local offices in the district because they are running unopposed.
It would appear the only race the GOP may not win in this district is mine. I paid for internal polling and was +2 over my opponent, but within margin of error. More importantly the Ohio GOP paid for polling in the district and showed me up +6. I know this because I have a mole who tunnels me their internals. The reactions to this I will cover below.
My district has 128K people. Projected turnout 54K+. We have three small cities Wooster, Orrville and Rittman which will account for apx 55% of the vote. We have 12 villages and 16 townships which will account for 45%. We have substantial industrial assets in Smuckers, United Titanium, LuK-USA, Frito-Lay, Daisy Brands and GoJo-Purel have large footprints in the county.
I am a bit known on this site for my 10 year effort to demonstrate and speak out about the horrible insecurity of our voting systems. I know. I am now running for office and many of the votes will be cast on those insanely insecure machines. God has a sense of humor. It was rightly noted in many of those postings back-in-the-day that I was a Republican. I was part of that ever-shrinking group of Progressive New-England/Rockefeller Republicans. Until it became cleat to me the GOP was stealing elections in an organized way. It was clear it was no longer my party. So I donned the awkward mantle of Independent, in a world that demands polarity.
I am locally known for founding and building four companies, and pitching in on bond issues and school board elections. My companies have done electronic security, advanced treatment of toxins from water (www.absmaterials.com) and energy efficiency controls.
In December of 2015 I read the paper and looked at who had decided to run for office. I could not abide any of the choices. The Dems had put up Nobody. The GOP had put up a fundamentalist extremist who has attacked and attempted to demolish every single public institution he can. He believes all schooling and all children’s services should be Church functions. I had met him. Not much makes me lose sleep. The idea of him representing my beautiful district made me lose sleep.
If not me who? If not now when?
Running as an Independent is extremely difficult. Where a major party (D+R) must gather 25 signatures to appear in the primary for State Rep., and Independent must gather many hundreds, based on a crazy formula in which the actual number changes every year. I ended up gathering 1426 signatures. In January and February. In Ohio. But in the process I made myself gather signatures across the entire district. Every precinct. Every school district. Every village. Every rural township.
I think decided I would personally try and knock on 10,000 doors. I had read a political consultant analysis that for every voter a candidate personally converts to vote for him/her, they will bring 3.8 additional votes with them in a non-incumbent race or 4.8 votes per conversion I calculated I would need 27,251 votes to win. If I could personally convert 5,677 voters I would test their premise. My tally today sits at 4,818. I will be out later today trying to win 30 more.
Along the way I was thrown off the ballot by the GOP controlled Board of Elections in a wholly invented “Quasi-Judicial Hearing”. The core issue was I supported Bernie Sanders, who I have known personally since 1986. Anyway, they throw me off the ballot. So I sued them. Went to high-court drama with Seven attorneys from the all GOP offices of the Local County Prosecutor, Sec. of State Husted, and Attny Gen. DeWine at one table … and just myself, pro-se at the other.
A former judge with over 30 years on the bench watched. Afterward he said: “That was a bloodbath. I knew you had a good case. But you slaughtered them.”
I was ordered on the ballot by a Writ of Mandamus. Look it up. It is the only one the Judge in my case has ever issued. It is used when a judge believes a public agency has acted against the law, o has been corrupted by criminal activity. Now there are multiple criminal investigations of who paid whom within the GOP and who traded what favors to try an get me thrown off the ballot are underway.
I think the battle has been front page news locally 18 times. Maybe 19. I have lost count.
And after all that… It is now basically a dead heat, with me polling slightly up on my opponent. But I have wiped out the structural R+16. Hard work, but that is done.
I am sure the GOP leadership did a series of head-scratches and cartoon double takes when they saw the local numbers. My district has been Red-Rock-Solid since the 1970s. Not quite on par with Utah, but close. My mole also shouted down his tunnel: “Incoming!!!”
8 days later the Ohio GOP Chairman dropped a 20,000 piece negative mailer on me. They spelled my name right all 4 times on the mailer. And they spelled it right when they mailed it to me as well. The GOP still considers me a lean-GOP Indy so I get all their mailers. The mailer basically said I was a Democrat and had a man-crush on Bernie Sanders, and spelled Stephen using Hillary’s H.
The reaction was interesting. This district has NEVER seen a negative campaign for a local office. No need. Many years it saw no campaign at all. A couple yard signs was a big effort. I have had dozens of people on the right and left come up and talk to me about the mailer.
If nothing else, it is a pure concession by the Ohio GOP that my name ID is already nearly 100% in the district. If it wasn’t, they sure pushed it up a few more points.
Then yesterday the Koch Brothers and/or pro-coal group started bombing the district with the mailer that I am … for renewable energy. Yup. I am. I have been the CEO of several Green-Tech companies. The image shows a power plant exploding in the background. A friend, to wit, said they should have just had me riding on a dragon personally throwing fire into the plant.
Another round of calls from supporters and people who were on the fence, mystified by this mailer.
Who knows. The political strategist all note an effective negative mailer can have a 2 point effect on a campaign. If the GOP does think I was up 6, that means I should see two more coming.
My opponent meanwhile has gone to bunker. He has refused to appear at any debates, forums or public events for two months. Some debates (League of Women Voters) were forced to cancel our debate. They won’t allow “empty chair” events. Others have moved forward with me sitting next to an empty chair. I am running, literally, against a ghost candidate who is counting on a structural R+16 advantage, hiring thugs to pull out my yard signs, and negative attacks from outside the district. Indeed. I can now say with certainty that I know why good people do not run for office.
But this is an unusual year. At least here in my district and living in my small city in Ohio the majority of voters are heading to the polls to vote against one of the two Presidential Candidates. Not for anyone. Except, I hope in some cases, my campaign.
I say this because I have personally having knocked on over 10,000 doors and personally spoken to those thousands of voters all over my district. And I think we can do this thing.
I have been a reader here for over a decade. I gave some notes and edits to a co-worker who used to post here frequently. Familiar with the history of pie-fights.
But I am also impressed that from time to time people put out a call to action, and action comes.
Last weekend I had 14 dedicated volunteers working putting up door hangers. We got over 4600 of them up. My goal is to put a door hanger, and ask in person at least once, every single possible voter who would support me in the district in the final two weeks. We are dropping our own 8000 piece contrast mailer on probable middle-choice wafflers this week.
We could use a few more people to help. We are organized, have materials and will put folks to work on Turfs or Phone Banks as soon as you ID yourself. Or if you want to chip in a few bucks that is nice too.
www.stephenspoonamore.com
I fail to meet the team definition and stated goal of More and Better Democrats. But I have a 30 year history of standing up for what is right in progressive causes. And I think I can win this thing. Which will result in one fewer Extremist Republican in office.
Pretty lively FB page as well. www.facebook.com/...