UPDATE: As of 2:15 p.m. Thursday, no application had been made for a permit for the fund- raiser by candidates Claudette Lovely- Brown, Lisa Logan- Leach and Reno Wilkins scheduled for this evening at the Washington Community School. The rules are very clear: this is an advertised public event with an admission fee, using a public facility. A permit is required, to be signed off on by the police and fire chiefs as well as the public safety director. I remember being at a school election fundraiser that WAS shut down. It was at Questover, a private residence next door to former Coucilor Malcolm Dunn's home. It was an invitation-only reception which had not been advertised to the general public. In other words, it should have been exempt from the permit requirement. Nevertheless, it was peremptorily shut down in full swing. Now I for one am not going to snitch on this evening's fundraiser, and if it goes forward without a hitch, we can just line this experience up with that of Flor Gonzalez' attempt to have a rally recently in support of police chief Ed Santiago -- a clear exercise of First Amendment rights -- only to be refused by Public Safety Director Hellwig. He apologized to her later and publicly, but you might be forgiven if you wondered whether two sets of books are being kept here... [original post below --Dan]----------------------------------------------------------------------------
You'd think people would have figured it out by now.
Plainfield is just too small for the word not to get around. So what's the word?
Word is that the fundraiser planned by the Committee to Elect CLR for this Friday evening ran into a few snags -- of a legal and administrative sort. But that may be the least interesting part of the story.
The Committee to Elect CLR is the joint committee for school board candidates Claudette Lovely-Brown, Lisa Logan-Leach (a current board member) and Reno Wilkins. Word also has it the team is being backed by one of Plainfield's real estate powerhouses, well-known for the style of food served up at his big events.
In any event, the shindig had a full-page ad on the back page of the Courier's COMMUNITY section on Wednesday. Billed as a "meet & greet fundraiser," it is slated for the Washington Community School.
That's the first hitch.
A fundraiser for candidates in a public building? You may be excused if your ethics radar is going off. But wait! There's more! Word has it that the team expected to use the facility for free, and to be covered by the school district's liability insurance without having to pony up any of its own.
How could this be, you say? One of the candidates is a current board member, and it seems there is a provision for board members to use school facilities for recreational, entertainment or cultural activities if they are not otherwise scheduled. But a fundraiser for school board candidates? It just doesn't pass the smell test.
Want more? The local school board has a policy that such uses need Board approval 30 days in advance of the event. All school board members get a copy of the Board policies at the beginning of their term, so surely they know the rules? Seems the organizers didn't go through the hoops, and it looked like permission might be denied.
Somehow, after some rumored night-time phone work, it seems a way forward opened for the Committee to Elect CLR, sort of like the parting of the Red Sea.
Word is a deal to RENT the premises was worked out -- $300/hour is what I hear, which would work out to maybe $1200 including set up and clean up time. Then there's the insurance rider -- last time I checked, a $1M liability rider on a policy for a one-day event ran around three hundred dollars. And the cost of the full-page ad in the Courier, another $250-$300.
Oh, and don't forget the cost of the food. So now we're looking at in the neighborhood of $1800, excluding the food. That means the break-even point -- at $25 per person -- is 72 tickets, before the food. And then we can start counting money for the campaign?
Well, yes, after figuring in whatever donation is being made to the school's 'Books, Bed and Beyond' program, according to the ad.
I remember the time when $1800 was all that was spent on a successful school board campaign, start-to-finish. And that would be raised in a few meet-and-greets in private homes, with donated food. How times have changed.
One person familiar with campaign expenses suggested to me that this wouldn't be much of a fundraiser, with the high overhead.
That may not necessarily be so. Remember I said the ruckus over getting the building may be the least interesting part.
What's really interesting is how money gets into a campaign. The trick is in this case is that the ticket price is $25, which is under the ELEC's contribution radar. That means that no individual donor information need be collected or reported for these small amounts. Which means an event like this provides a perfect vehicle for abuse of the system.
If a person (or persons) wished to, they could exceed the contribution limits by simply paying for the tickets and distributing them free. Of course, the campaign committee would have to collude by disguising the true source of the money.
But hey, this is Plainfield! Surely that wouldn't happen here? You may want to check the ELEC reports when filed to see how big a deal this fundraiser turns out to be.
There is still one last little wrinkle: fundraisers are required to have a permit from the Clerk's office, signed off on by the Police Chief, the Fire Chief and the Director of Public Safety. Without one, the event can be shut down, as has happened before. It's before hours, so I won't know about that till later today (Thursday), but I'll be checking.
Is this really a good foot to get off on for people who want us to entrust our children's future to their care? You tell me.
The CLR team's slogan is 'a new era in Plainfield education.' Speaks for itself.
Keep it in mind when you go to the polls on Tuesday, April 18th.
-- Dan Damon
Keywords: School board, elections
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