There is an opening for someone to run for Representative to the US House in 2008, for the 8th congressional district of the State of California. The district covers most of the City and County of San Francisco, California.
Notice: This is a temporary position, expires on June 3, 2008, with an option to renew. Full requirements list here. Successful candidate must have extensive fund raising skills, and be comfortable speaking in public. Candidate must speak English, with Italian, Spanish or Chinese a plus. (English requirement waived if your father is a former President and former head of the CIA.)
You must be familiar with, and willing to relocate to, the CA-08. Interested? Keep reading.
The successful candidate will have ideas and ideals, and be willing to shut up about them when expedient. There will be a set of agreed upon answers to policy questions, which you will be required to memorize. Of course, your input on these issues will be the foundation of your policy book.
Fund raising will be approximately 70% of your daily activity, the balance to be public speaking, and public appearances. The projected budget for the project is approximately $500k, the bulk of which you will be expected to solicit from wealthy individuals and PACs, nationwide. We project an undetermined portion of this budget will be available through various "netroots activist" sites.
Your objective is to win a contested primary against Nancy Pelosi, who raised $1.6M in 2006, and had $185k COH as of the end of the campaign. So, we'll have to start "dialing for dollars" even before you file. I'll help; just give me your address book, and I'll start calling your friends. Then, that afternoon, you'll have to start schnoring for dollars on your own. That's going to require someone very, very good to write your policy Book, and we'll need to spend some money on that, because the CA-08 is a minefield of special interests. For example, promoting tourism is a positive on both sides of Broadway (Chinatown and North Beach) but it has a slightly different meaning in the Castro. Can't just promise to bring home the bacon, it has to be the nitrate-free, free range Nieman Ranch raised-from-vegan-pigs politically correct bacon. And while we were once the quintessential Union town, well,...we need big bucks to advertise in a primary run against Nancy, and the local Locals won't want to offend the PtB. The Locals will follow Nancy, we'll have to look at "other sources" of cash.
Once we win the primary, we'll be in fat city. After all, it's not as if Pelosi has any pull with the Democratic machine, here. Democratic doners always step up to the plate, whether they know a candidate or not. The winner of the Democratic primary is the anointed CA-08 representative. That's just the way it works here. It's not like anyone will pour money into Cindy's campaign, or G-d forbid Gonzalez will decide to run. What do the Greens ever get in The City, 46-47%? Phbbbbt...</snark>
So, if you're a progressive Democrat, living in, or willing to relocate to G-d's Favorite City, and you meet the minimal requirements to be a Representative to the House, I'm with you. Of course, it would help if you already had name recognition within the district, and people in and out of the district willing to send money. Platform? The first, and only, plank in your platform is that you'll support the meanest, nastiest, dirty-fighting-est, junkyard dog of a Democrat for Speaker. Screw bipartisanship, when we takeover the House (again), the Rethugs can sit down and shut up for two years.* Email me and we'll start fundraising.
How about it? It's the CA-08, there are fewer barriers to being elected than in most places. Gay's okay, divorced a few times is okay, your personal life is pretty much personal. Hell, the former vice-chairman of the San Francisco Republican Party re-registered as a Democrat, and was elected SF Supervisor. Not technically in your district, but you can throw rocks to his supposed residence. Oh, yeah, he's been suspended, being indicted, all the usual Republican baggage. And that wasn't his personal life, the guy was a registered Republican! So come on, email me.
P.S. You wouldn't happen to be independently wealthy, would you?