TO: To the people supporting my campaign
FROM: Bob Healey, Candidate for Lieutenant Governor
DATED: September 22, 2010
RE: Help during the Campaign
This is an open letter in response to the many people who have volunteered and offered support for my campaign.
If you know me at all, you know that I do not encourage waste. I do not like wasting time or money – yours or mine. To contact you all earlier in the campaign would have been merely a waste of your time. The beginning of the campaign has many make-work jobs. We could have asked for your time for those tasks, but I cannot find it in myself to make such an imposition on my friends.
But, now your help is needed, and now I am asking for it.
If you still feel that you are willing to volunteer, we can use your help.
As you know, I do not take campaign contributions, and so this is not just another letter asking you for money. I don’t want your hard-earned dollars to fund this effort. I want your support. I want you to help in ways that will advance this true grass roots effort.
Without campaign funds, the campaign must rely on you and the voters. The message has to get out, and that is where you come into play.
Since I was not sure as to how the race would develop, I have been slow on the draw in terms of campaign materials. The original start of signs, stickers and the like had been set for October 1, but I am working to advance that date in the light of the recent surge in the campaign.
What I need is a group that can spread the word about the basics of our campaign. If you are a public speaker or wish to distribute the message about where I stand, I urge you to reply to this call. I am composing a “fact sheet” that allows you to convey the message, e.g. There are many people who still believe the Lt. Governor becomes the Governor when the Governor is out of the State. This is completely wrong. The fact sheet will provide citations of claims and other evidence of our position.
The enemy of the campaign is ignorance. People need to be corrected and fully informed to make a reasoned decision. I do not fear adversity, but I do fear ignorance. The opposition will attempt to control the issue with slanted statements. It is up to us to correct these “truths” being proffered by the opposition.
Back to the signs and such, we will distribute them to those requesting as soon as they are in our possession. If you have made a request in an earlier e-mail, it is on file. If you have a location and/or an idea for placement of a sign, please get that to us.
Volunteers are being organized for neighborhood walks and other public events. If this is your area of expertise, please help with that organization and/or request a visit to a group you may have organized. Our schedule is tight, but we want to reach as many people as possible.
The biggest asset of our campaign is people telling other people that they are supporting this effort to save the state a million dollars a year (4 million dollars per election). If they have no interest in saving $4 million, it is unlikely that you can reach them. Still, you can let them know that they are wasting your money as well as theirs on this redundant office. Explain to them that a state budget is like a home budget, the first thing to the road of balancing expenses and income is to eliminate any and all frivolous spending.
I will not waste any more of your time preaching to the choir than I already have. I will close by saying that now is the time to act and if your original support remains true, please respond to this call for help.
Thank you.
Bob Healey
