One final thought before signing off

Home » Opinion » Michael Haley

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

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By MICHAEL HALEY

Napablogger

October 28th, 2009

One final thought before signing off

September 23rd, 2009

Time for local economic stimulus

August 31st, 2009

Community in a world of chaos

August 20th, 2009

Schwarzenegger finally proposes pension reform

With my recent announcement that I am forming an exploratory committee to run for County Supervisor, my ability to write a blog column for NapaValleyRegister.com has come to an end.

I just wanted to write a quick note to say how much fun it has been to write, something I love to do, to interact with you all and share ideas and opinions.

However, since my job is saying opinions, I can't resist voicing one final one I do not believe is something that enters directly into the campaign in any way.

As I picked up my papers from the county regarding rules for candidates, I discovered that, in total, just to run for Supervisor involves paying fees that get close to $3000. It really struck me as undemocratic to charge people who want to run.

What if someone doesn't have that kind of money and just wants to run based on their community activism and connection with people? What if someone doesn't want to fund raise and be beholden to special interests that may contribute to cover the expenses?

Maybe it is a little thing, because anyone seriously running for office is going to have to raise a lot of money anyway. But why make it even worse by charging someone for the privilege of running? It really strikes me as the opposite message that we ought to be sending to potential office seekers, we need to open the door as wide as we can to get community involvement, not charge people.

So there is one last opinion for you, it has been a blast and I have really appreciated all the comments, agree with me or not, and have a lot of respect for all of you and your involvement in trying to make our community and our world a better place.

Taking my hands off the keyboard and walking back toward the door....talk to you soon....

Michael Haley

(Editor's note. When anyone writing a blog for NapaValleyRegister.com opts to run for an elected position, we place that blog on suspension until the outcome of the election. We choose this so all candidates have equal time and space for their thoughts and ideas.)

17 comment(s)

kevin wrote on Oct 28, 2009 8:17 PM:

" I think there is an option to paying the filing fee; for many offices you can usually choose to obtain extra (many extra) endorsements from local constituents... "

funnyme wrote on Oct 28, 2009 10:16 PM:

" See you soon...I guess.

The best of luck to you Mike! "

freeport56 wrote on Oct 29, 2009 9:10 AM:

" Thank you Mike. Your comments have been telling, well written, and very fun. Good luck in the campaign. "

napablogger wrote on Oct 30, 2009 10:18 AM:

" thanks freeport, and funnyme. "

napablogger wrote on Oct 30, 2009 10:31 AM:

" Kevin, there is for one part of the fee, but my point is that if you can put a ballot to raise taxes on for free, why not to run for office? No other campaign issue I have been involved in requires fees in order to register. "

kevin wrote on Oct 31, 2009 9:22 AM:

" Well, NB, I've always figured if you can't con people into giving you money, then they have no business getting into politics anyway.

Good luck on your new adventure!

And no hard feelings when you are a Supervisor and I insult your intelligence and impune your charactor because we disagree over an issue... "

napablogger wrote on Nov 1, 2009 9:27 AM:

" Kevin, no hard feelings, politics ain't bean bag, I figured that out a long time ago. I never take it personally. "

a teacher wrote on Nov 1, 2009 11:26 AM:

" Mike: I will miss reading your "blog", you're always pretty reasonable, even when I don't agree. "

Raven wrote on Nov 1, 2009 4:08 PM:

" For most offices you can avoid paying a filing fee by turning in petitions with a minimum number of voter signatures. In my young a foolish days (mid 80s) and put my hat in the ring as a Democratic candidate in a heavily GOP SoCal district as was able to avoid the fees by submitting petitions....(got my clock cleaned but that was to be expected, I have a dislike of unopposed elections) can't you do this with the supe's race? "

napablogger wrote on Nov 2, 2009 7:33 AM:

" Raven, there are two fees and one of them you can, the other you can't.

Btw, I saw a blog site from"The Raven", was that you? "

napablogger wrote on Nov 2, 2009 7:34 AM:

" teacher, thank you, I appreciate that. Glad to see that you are writing a column now yourself, I enjoy reading it. "

Raven wrote on Nov 2, 2009 8:51 AM:

" ahh, I only had one fee to worry about way back then...and nope, not me....but I would be interested in seeing it.. "

LMW wrote on Nov 4, 2009 2:58 PM:

" good luck Mr Haley:) "

Todd Adams wrote on Nov 4, 2009 5:33 PM:

" On environmental issues we don't seem to be on the same planet, but on other issues you seem to listen to the other side and make a positive contribution to the discussion. Good qualities for a BOS. Although I'm rooting for your opponent, I think your campaign will raise some important issues and hopefully spark a broader debate in the community. Looking forward to it! Thanks. "

dellasumbrella wrote on Nov 8, 2009 12:42 PM:

" Even though I rarely commented on your column, I did appreciate your writing, your sense of fairness, your ability to "cross ideological lines" on some issues, and your ability and willingness to further the dialogue. I'll ditto Todd Adams on the environmental issues part. "

napablogger wrote on Nov 8, 2009 8:53 PM:

" Todd, dellas, thanks for your comments, LMW for your encouragement.

Raven, I tried to find that blog again but I couldn't. Forgot to bookmark it, sorry. "

Raven wrote on Nov 9, 2009 8:57 PM:

" awww...such is life "

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