If I were to pay $3.00 to A2Indy.com, would I be able to pick text and have A2Indy design online ads for Briere, Kirk Westphal, and Chip Smith on their behalf?

I could do that as an in-kind contribution to each, but I guess all that’s beside the point.

I only point it out because I’ve done campaign finance previously and the rules exist so that all candidates for public office play fair and by the rules. I thought something smelled fishy, which was why I brought it up. I care deeply about the sanctity of the electoral process, and rules preventing corporate influence of candidate committees are important to me.

I had the opportunity to chat about this and other items for about an hour with Mr Hayner today (and we do actually see eye to eye on a few things, I’ll say – as my updated endorsement page on my blog states), and he explained exactly what he’s posted above – the policy wasn’t immediately clear regarding ads for political candidates, which was what made me wonder.

This all being said, unless I missed it, I haven’t seen the expense on CM Lumm’s statement. A $1.00 expense is still an expense (or debt / liability), and still must be reported on the CFR.

“Our publishing company is launching a locally owned weekly newspaper called The Ann Arbor Independent. The first issue of the newspaper will be distributed October 29th. We would like to offer your campaign a print ad for $1. Advertising for locally owned businesses and non-profits is free.”

In discussing the ‘fair-market value’ of an ad – this from their website:

“The site accepts advertisements from locally-owned businesses, small non-
profit organizations, citizen groups, arts organizations and other similar non-
governmental entities free of charge.”

We could go through a discussion of circulation, readership and the like, but that is moot; the fair market value is what I or others in the market (at that time) would be asked to pay, and that was One Dollar. I bought one, and I reported the expense as required.

Corporations may not contribute. The “whois” for a2Indy.com lists Patricia Lesko as the registrant, without an organization attached. So she should list her in-kind contribution if the value of Hayner’s ad is greater than $1.

With regard to the Second Ward, the list of contributors tells the tale. Westphal’s people include a lot of the leftover fragments of the Council Party. Lumm’s list includes a wide variety of “neighborhoodies” across the city, and goes beyond traditional party politics.

Since votes generally (but not always) wind up in agreement with how much money the candidates have raised, it looks like Lumm is going to crush Westphal. We certainly don’t need someone on Council who will always side with the developers and encourage the grandiosity and wretched excess of the Hieftje years.

The list of contributors in the filling helps you get a clear idea of whether the candidate is running a neighborhood-oriented grassroots campaign, or one with broad cross-party support. When you recognize the names and look at the occupations of the donors, you can determine whether that campaign is one that is beholden to developers, special interests, and traditional party politics.