It works like this:
You have two options: you collect 65 signatures and pony up $3500 dollars in filing fees, or you collect 10,000 signatures and waive the fee. You round up this stuff and give your name to the Secretary of State, and, *poof*, you’re a candidate for the Governorship of the Great State of California.
The recall is going ahead, though I’m still hoping for something interesting and legal to happen to make Darrell Issa have to spend more of his money in his attempt to pull California back sixty years. I doubt anything in the interesting or legal departments will arrive, though, since they never do. And, no, Arnold Schwartzeneggar tossing his hat into the ring doesn’t count as interesting; we’ve already done the actor-as-governor thing, and I can’t figure why anyone would want to go through that kind of punishment again.
So far the only announced candidates Darrell and Green candidate Peter Camejo (who doesn’t have a hope in hell right off the bat; if the Greens want to be taken seriously, they should follow the Christian Coalition’s lead and take over a major party and change it from the inside out. But that’s another rant for another time). Ah-nuld is playing coy, as are Dick Riordan, Dianne Feinstein and a few others that aren’t as interesting or promising. And I’m starting to think that Arianna Huffington is doing a better job as columnist than she could as governor; call me crazy, I like her, but I still remember all the wacky shit she did back when her ex-husband was running for the Statehouse.
But, still, it’s wide open for anyone who has the cash or the means to convince 10,000 Californians to sign a petition. This has great potential for Goofy Shit.
Think about it: anyone who gets together the cash or the signatures is due at least a mention in the papers. It’s one thing to be “exploring options”; it’s quite another to be an actual, legal candidate. There might even be a little press time on PBS or NPR, and if that candidate didn’t have a hope in hell of winning, he or she would have the courage to speak his or her mind. If you don’t care about winning, you don’t care about alienating voters. You might, however, wake a few people up to how silly and serious this all is, and that would be some excellent Goofy Shit.
So, the question is: who?
Not me, first of all. I thought about this, sat down and dig some envelope calculations to figure out which course of action would work for me, cash or signatures. I did pretty well with my Team In Training fundraising, but I’m not about to go and squander that goodwill by hitting everyone up for cash for something as self-indulgent as running for governor. And I’m pretty sure that I don’t know enough Californians who are registered voters who know enough Californians who are registered voters who know enough Californians…at least, not 10,000 of ‘em.
So, who? Someone who’s not a wanker, someone who has some name recognition, someone who has a network of readers/viewers/audience that’s fairly large and insane enough to pick up the idea and run with it, someone who grasps the web and communicating through it, and someone who enjoys the ugly mudfighting of politics, or, at least, doesn’t mind it.
My choices, in no order:
-Greg Knauss
-Bob Cringely
-Wil Wheaton
(And keep in mind, this is not running someone who will win. If I’d thought up someone who would kick ass in the recall election, I’d have worked for that person to get elected instead of Davis in the first place).
Why these three? They all have web sites with built in audiences, they’re all bright, and I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t mind a little Goofy Shit.
However, I’m up for suggestions.
