by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Don’t let the numbers fool you and don’t read too much into them, says City Council member and 2003 mayoral candidate Alberta Hipps.
Despite the fact that she’s over $100,000 behind Mike Weinstein in campaign contributions as of Jan. 10, Hipps isn’t worried.
“Campaigns are a marathon,” said Hipps. “I think it’s going to be a long race.”
In their first campaign contributions report, which are required by law, Weinstein reported $146,030 in contributions and Council member Ginger Soud reported $102,128. Hipps was a distant third with $24,702.
The first declared candidate, Hipps officially entered the race Aug. 23. Three weeks later, America was devastated by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Hipps said those events didn’t cause her to reconsider running, but they did convince her to reevaluate what was important to people at the time.
“I did not muster everyone after the events of Sept. 11,” she said. “People were concentrating on other things rather than me asking them for money. They were interested in other causes.”
Today, things are different. The situation in Afghanistan is still newsworthy on a daily basis, but it’s not the first topic of discussion. And, with the economy on a slow upswing, Hipps said she expects the contributions to increase.
“The troops are mustering and everything else is falling into place,” said Hipps. “I am pleased with everybody in my campaign.”
Like her inaugural campaign in 1995, Hipps’ mayoral strategy will mimic that effort. That year she ran a grass roots campaign that functioned predominantly from her home on the Westside. In addition to raising money for her City Council push, Hipps relied heavily on volunteers who devoted their time and energy to getting her elected. Those volunteer hours are not part of any campaign report and Hipps said she can’t begin to put a value on having people do everything from stuffing envelopes to knocking on doors.
“I have a significant number of volunteers helping with my grass roots effort,” said Hipps, who put the number under 100, but not by much.
The next campaign contribution report is due April 10. Both Weinstein and Soud figure to have added to their coffers and Gate Petroleum vice president John Peyton, the other announced candidate in the race, will submit his first report. (Peyton didn’t file his paperwork with the Supervisor of Elections Office until early January, exempting him from the first reporting period. At a recent fundraiser, Peyton reportedly raised $160,000.)
It’s generally agreed that it may take about $1.5 million to win the 2003 mayoral race and Hipps concurs. While she certainly won’t have nearly that much in three months and may not yet have even hit the $100,000 mark, she said her next report will be significantly higher than the last.
“I don’t want to state a figure, but there will certainly be an increase,” said Hipps. “Unfortunately, it takes a lot of money to do a campaign. I think I can do it more cost effectively than others because of my grass roots efforts.”
Hipps did not say where she thinks the rest of her contributions will come from, but she is sure she can stay in the race. Raising $1 million is not out of the question, but for her, it will mean getting what she can from whomever she can. While her report may not indicate dozens and dozens of $500 contributors (the maximum for an individual), she expects it to exhibit hundreds of people who gave $10 or $20. That money, Hipps contends, will multiply.
“I do believe I’m a candidate of the people,” said Hipps. “I think my contributions will reflect my involvement not so much at a high level, but a volume of people contributing what they can.”
Regardless, Hipps has no intentions of pulling out of the race any time soon.
“I’m in it for the long haul,” she said.