I would like to follow up on my previous post in which I wrote of the virtues of grassroots campaigning.  Now, I would like to get into specifics.  All too often, politicians speak in fluffy generalities and vague, feel-good non-statements.  But Joe Bologna is not a politician.  And I would like to explain to you exactly how Joe Bologna is going about his grassroots campaign.

The core of it all is talking to voters face-to-face.  To do this, Joe is going door-to-door in precincts and neighborhoods across Escondido.  He walks up to voters' doors, tells why he's there, and, if the voter is interested, will discuss the tough issues facing Escondido and why you should elect Joe the mayor this November.  Our campaign may not have much money, but Joe Bologna is pounding the pavement every day, talking to voters, and spreading his message of fiscal responsibility and a government that listens to the people.

In addition to Joe walking the streets, he is getting invaluable help from volunteers who are also knocking on doors and spreading the word.  It would be physically impossible for Joe Bologna all by himself to get to every house in Escondido.  But if we have enough volunteers ... anything is possible.  And our volunteer team is growing all the time.

This is what Joe Bologna's campaign is doing.  We may not have the big bucks in this race, but we have the energy -- and we will have the voter support.

The North County Times recently released the latest fundraising totals for Joe Bologna's competition in the mayor's race.  The numbers were astounding.  The race for Escondido's next mayor is breaking all fundraising records.  It's just one more sign of how important money has become in American politics.  No matter the race, no matter at what level of government, our elections have become about who can get the most money in the shortest amount of time.

This is not what elections should be about.  The extreme focus of modern campaigns on money, money, money takes the focus of the candidates and the electorate away from the issues and the multiple crises that face us in this day and age.  But most of all, money depersonalizes politics.  If campaigns are about fundraising they can't be about people.  And it is the people of Escondido who the candidates running for office in Escondido should pay attention to.  Joe Bologna believes this, and so do I.

The focus on money allows campaigns to obscure, obfuscate, and even downright lie about the issues that the people care about.  They will "promise you anything you wanna hear, to win the crowd [they]'re chasing!  [They] spend billions of dollars to make [their] point clear!"  The vast amounts of money infecting our electoral system cheapen the American right to vote.  And it inevitably leads to pandering, elitism, and inauthenticity to the point where our elections seem more designed to entertain us than save American from the hole we've fallen into.

Contrast this to when a candidate leads a true grassroots campaign.  When candidates put themselves forward to be elected to public office, and they go out to the people, candidates cannot avoid authenticity.  Voters who examine candidates face-to-face can tell the truth from the falsehoods.  When candidates put people first before the election, you know they will put people first afterwards.

Joe Bologna is running a grassroots campaign.  He will be outspent ten-to-one by his opponents.  But is going out there and speaking to voters face-to-face.  Joe Bologna is putting people first in his campaign for mayor.  He knows he is at a disadvantage when it comes to sending out mailers and advertisements.  He is refusing to focus on gathering all the cash possible.  Joe is convinced that the people of Escondido will have the final say -- not money.  His belief is firmly stated: "I will not buy this election."  And Escondido will be better off for it.

The number one question I get when I tell voters about Joe is: Do you really think he can win?  Can Joe Bologna, who is not part of the Escondido political machine, beat the establishment candidates and fix what's really wrong with our city government?  And such questions make a legitimate point.  Joe is the underdog in this race for mayor.  He doesn't have lots of money from special interests and out-of-town developers.  He doesn't have the support of the downtown business establishment.  And yet I remind these voters that it is not the downtown business establishment that has the final say in who becomes Escondido's next mayor.  It's not the political machine that ultimately picks from among the various candidates.  It's YOU.  You, the voter, are the one who chooses who will be on our city council, and you, the hard-working Escondido resident , can choose someone other that the machine's choice.  It's up to you.  So when people ask me if Joe can win I say, Yes, if we have your help.

We need to get the word out (and we are).  We need volunteers to go door-to-door (and people are already stepping up). We need donations to be able to afford supplies (and we realize times are tough).  This is how we will really make a difference here.

And when the election is over, and the ballots are counted, what we are doing here will not end.  We are working as hard as we are in order to revitalize Escondido.  We want our city to be restored to its former place of preeminence in the region.  The city council over the past decade has done a great job of incredibly mismanaging our city.  But we can bring Escondido back to where it was before, and not only to where it was before; we'll make Escondido better and stronger than we were going into this crisis.  We can do it, with your help.