The Brian Davis for Congress campaign was recently in Los Angeles at the same time as the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology Oncology (ASTRO) meeting. While I participated in the scientific meeting, some of the activities outside of the event were devoted to our campaign. We had the opportunity to visit with friends and make new ones at our fundraiser organized by Erika and Jennifer held at the Liberty Grill, a fitting name and location for the event. Since ASTRO is a not-for-profit organization, similar in this respect to the Mayo Clinic, it would not be typical for it to endorse or support any candidate. In contrast, ASTRO PAC may provide support as may individuals of the organization, CEOs, Presidents or otherwise.
Regarding funding for the trip, Miles at the Federal Election Commission (FEC) hotline confirmed our suspicions: expenses need to be paid by the campaign. My wife Lori attended the FEC campaign finance school in Virginia in May so that we’d have a better handle on resolving these issues. In a medical lobbying visit to Washington DC during April, physician and medical physicist colleagues indicated their willingness to fund my campaign so this visit also was charged to our campaign after we filed the candidacy in June. This visit also provided the opportunity to meet Mr. Walz in his congressional office.
Regarding funding for the trip, Miles at the Federal Election Commission (FEC) hotline confirmed our suspicions: expenses need to be paid by the campaign. My wife Lori attended the FEC campaign finance school in Virginia in May so that we’d have a better handle on resolving these issues. In a medical lobbying visit to Washington DC during April, physician and medical physicist colleagues indicated their willingness to fund my campaign so this visit also was charged to our campaign after we filed the candidacy in June. This visit also provided the opportunity to meet Mr. Walz in his congressional office.
I returned to Rochester just in time to go trick or treating with some of the little ones and pass out scary literature in the neighborhood:
October 31, 2007
Dear Rochester Neighbor:
Happy Halloween! The reason that I’m writing to you is to introduce you to my campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives in our District, the 1st District of Minnesota and to seek your support…..
In the summer after graduating high school a friend and I had a job painting house addresses on the front curb of residences during the day and requesting donations for this service during the evening. It was Paul’s second summer doing this job and my first. Paul had obtained permission from Mayor Sabonjian’s office for this privilege which helped fund a portion of our college education. Since Paul was the experienced one who had set up this job he made an executive decision regarding the division of labor: he would paint and I would collect. I could typically cover about 60 to 80 households an evening, alone or with friends. Last night for Halloween we passed out 70 letters as we traded for sweets. We found some new supporters and also ran into a couple of folks who have a history of supporting the other guys, but it was all very cordial. Minnesota is a great place. We'll work on them.
There have been some recent posts in the blogosphere that attempt to analyze patterns of fundraising among the contenders for the Republican endorsement in the First District. Our friends over at IDHA readily allow posts on their blog where we made some initial comments and indicated that we’d comment further. Here are a few thoughts: 1) It’s good to have friends and colleagues who are willing to provide support. 2) Having receipts greater than expenses is a good way to run a business or a campaign. 3) The FEC reports don’t tell the whole story, particularly as it concerns donations at $200 and below.
Halloween wasn’t really that scary after all, except for our littlest one, Kirsten, when her older brother put on his wicked black mask.
