With
only 31 days to go until this special election in California's 50th congressional district,
Francine Busby has a good chance
to turn this c.d. blue. In this special election being held April 11th are a slew of GOP candidates most of whom seem to be trying to "out-wingnut" each other in the eyes of the voters. One the Democratic side, Busby is the one candidate with the name recognition and fundraising who can win this race.
Busby, a Women's Studies adjunct Professor at the CSU-San Marcos campus has raised over one million dollars so far and is the leading fundraiser among candidates of ALL parties. She is running to replaced convicted Republican Randy "Duke" Cunningham who will be serving the next eight or so years as a guest of our federal prison system. His crimes have attracted national attention and have no doubt left a bad taste in the mouths of voters in this district. This distaste is one factor that could very well work in Francine's favor as she works hard to win over 50% of the vote on April 11th to ensure victory.
Naturally, Busby is focusing on ethics and lobbying reform in congress. Her positions on lobbying reform include:
Changing the Way Washington Works by Fighting for Real Ethics Reform
-No Gifts from Lobbyists
-No Privately Funded Congressional Travel
-No Secret Meetings with Lobbyists
-No Anonymous Appropriations
-No Outside Financial Relationships with Government
Contractors
-No Exceptions
Francine has released two ethics proposals that are tougher than any currently introduced by any member of Congress from either party. Her CLEAN House Act would dramatically limit the influence of government contractors and lobbyists on congressional decision making. Her CLEAN Office proposal would establish the toughest standards for interaction with lobbyists of any of the 535 congressional offices. Her proposal is simple: no trips, no gifts, no secret meetings, no outside financial relationships and no exceptions.
Busby's CLEAN House Act
Busby's CLEAN office proposal
All info from Busby's issues page.
This is a winnable race. Francine's fundraising numbers and name recognition are indicators of that. The fact that over 6,700 of Busby's contributions have been from individuals shows the grassroots support she has. Although the blogosphere has made little noise about this race, YOU can make a difference.
You can volunteer to help Francine win this race.
Also very helpful are contributions to Francine's campaign. Although she is the leading fundraiser in the race she is facing off against a few millioniare GOP candidates and if their is indeed a run-off necessary, Busby will need plenty of cash to get her message out, fend off the inevitable GOP attacks and GOTV.