Why Normal People Don't Run for Office
Published March 01, 2007
I decided to run for the Champaign Unit #4 school board because I was tired of complaining in my columns and to others of my dissatisfaction with Unit 4. I ran to try to be part of the solution, not to be another pundit engaging in a blog B&W session. For this, I have been rewarded with being accused of 83 felonies that carry a maximum penalty of 457 years in prison and that's not even counting the misdemeanors.
It's not that I have a problem with Mr. Brayfield challenging my petitions. It's not a problem that he sees problems with the school board and is trying to do what "one man can do" to help fix it. It's that his attacks are personal, destructive, and undemocratic.
Despite claims to the contrary, these challenges are not democratic. Democracy entails the freedom to choose when voting. That freedom is not enhanced by one person showing up at a hearing where the public can witness but not participate (except for public comment which has no bearing on the objections themselves). That freedom is not enhanced by attempting to take away people's right to choose from a variety of diverse candidates and making sure they are only presented with candidates that fit some preconceived ideological mold. These objections aren't democratic, they are undemocratic and they are an affront to everyone who has fought and died for democracy to suggest otherwise.
I will criticize no one for attempting to contribute constructively to Unit 4. Even if I disagree, I will welcome any participation. If you have ideas, I will make sure you have the resources to bring solid and complete proposals to the Board, even if I disagree with them. However, that does not give license to individuals to contribute destructively by disparaging people in the press and in objections for running massive criminal enterprises just to get 50 or more signatures to run for the unpaid position of school board member.
I, and the other 4 candidates, have been accused of fraud, perjury, forgery, and conspiracy and on that basis we should be removed from the ballot. These accusations are not presented with any factual basis whatsoever. One candidate, a bank executive, has had to explain to his superiors and co-workers the nature of these allegations of fraud. Fraud, for a bank executive, is a career-ending proposition.
All that Mr. Brayfield has accomplished with this stunt is to discourage honest people running for school board in Champaign. Why would anyone submit there name to have the Brayfields of the world run to the press and start accusing them of being criminals? It has been said that there is something about running for and holding office that will turn honest people into felons (ok, I said it), but this is a little off the mark. The biggest threat to democracy is that only a certain class of people runs for office, and Mr. Brayfield is part of the ongoing actions that discourage all but the most pathological from running.
It is clear from his selection of candidates that he objected to, that he has an ideological agenda and has engaged in a radical smear campaign to destroy the integrity of the people he disagrees with. If he has a problem with a candidate, then those issues can be addressed on April 17th in the ballot box. That's the way democracy is supposed to work.
- Why Normal People Don't Run for Office
- Published: March 01, 2007
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Politics
- Filed Under: Culture: Society, Politics: Elections and Candidates, Politics: Government, Politics: Law and Rights, Politics: Local and Regional, Politics: U.S.
- Writer: John Bambenek
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Comments
Strange that we've accorded ourselves to attack others with such ferocious and libel force. We have to reverse this. People who assert wrongul information against another person must face the consequecnes of their lies. I hear this sort of stuff all the time these days. Awful.
Bambenek--
I sympathize with you. Politics is a dirty business even at the dog catcher level. I don't think you have to act like this Brayfield guy to get elected. You do have to be willing to fight however. I noticed that Brayfield's phone number is listed on the petition. I believe it is perfectly legitimate and in no way harrassment for anyone with an interest in this election to call up Mr. Brayfield at (217) 637-0865 and ask for a simple explanation.
JB,
Unbelievable. Politics certainly is a dirty business.
You say in the article that the list of candidates Brayfield selected to go after shows a clear ideological agenda. Maybe I missed it in the article, but what's the commonality of the targets?
The commonality is anyone who is not a communist. Ok, maybe not a communist, but close. :)
So Bambenek;
You're now the "Assistant Politics Editor for BC Magazine"? Wow, incredible. When did that take place?
"Ok, maybe not a communist, but close. :)"
I take the smiley face as a suggestion of exaggeration. He sounds like a self proclaimed 'progressive' that is in the habit of thinking anyone he considers to his 'right', a fascist.
Take a step back. There are not a whole lot folks around these days that are even close to communist or fascist.
Politics these days seem to be taking on an increasingly pornographic tone.
Hey, Les!
Where you been? Off fomenting revolution somewhere in the third world?
Hobnobbing with Chavez, maybe?
Don't bother with him, he's only a wannabe. :>)
I've been an editor for a few months now...
And I live in a college town... if there are only a few real communists left... they must all live near campuses. :)
"Where you been? Off fomenting revolution somewhere in the third world?"
Not third world.
"if there are only a few real communists left... they must all live near campuses. :)"
Many on campus think they are communists. I think that's a good start.
Many on campus think they are communists. I think that's a good start.
Makes it easier to keep an eye on them, anyway.
Dave
"Makes it easier to keep an eye on them, anyway."
While you're watching the 'communists' on the campuses, you'll miss what's really going on, elswhere.
It strikes me that the ultimate political motivation for striking candidates is irrlevant. The tactic itself is anti-democratic. It doesn't matter if it's being done by a lefty or a righty. Voters are being disenfranchised.
Les Slater, communist insurgent.
I knew the Patriot Act had its uses! ;-)
Seriously, if you want to see some truly vile anti-democracy shenanigans, check out what the Democrats did to Ralph Nader in numerous states way back in 2004.
They did some judge-shopping, and then went to court with bogus arguments in an effort to keep Mr. Nader off the ballot. In a lot of states, this tactic worked, because the presiding judge was a Democrat or a Democrat-appointee. And Mr. Nader simply did not have the financial resources available to him to successfully fight it in court (financial resources the Democrat Party most certainly did have).
Once you move past the dog-catcher/school board level, politics is all about money. And there are only three kinds of candidates with enough money to win: establishment Democrats, establishment Republicans, and the independently wealthy. That's it. You're toast otherwise.
While you're watching the 'communists' on the campuses, you'll miss what's really going on, elswhere.
Don't worry, I'm keeping my other eye on the ones trying to unionize WalMart.
dave
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Down with democracy, long live freedom!