on the cover / By Hank Sims

Unlike Mike

Klamath:

“First and foremost, we have to restore all of our native, natural systems. What we have here is a perfect example of how capitalism has brought two competing subcultures into conflict. They’ve milked so much water out of the natural systems that the natural systems are on the verge of collapse if any more water is diverted.

“Yet now we’ve brought on a climate crisis that is going to bring on more and more drought. The farmers who are now totally invested in a certain level of water aren’t going to be able to get any more. What has to happen is those farmers are going to have to get together in their own conversion conferences and figure out how to make a sustainable economy based on the resources in their region.”

Money and the First District

In the last few years, Mike Thompson has become one of the better fundraisers in Congress. In the 2006 campaign, members of the House of Representatives raised an average of around $1.25 million to fund their reelection campaigns. Thompson raised $1.75 million, despite the fact that he had no credible opposition. (Republican competitor John W. Jones raised only $100,000.)

Thompson could easily have won the race with half the amount he raised, or even less. Which raises the question: What do you do with such a large surplus of funds? A look around the indispensable website Opensecrets.org tells the tale: In Thompson’s case, the answer seems to be threefold.

In the first place, you sock it away for a rainy day. Thompson’s campaign had a $220,000 surplus going into the 2006 campaign, meaning that he could have outspent his principal opponent 2-to-1 without raising a dime in that cycle. After 2006, he added another $365,000 to that surplus, leaving his campaign committee with $585,000 cash in hand going into 2008.

Second: You spread the love by spending freely in your district. Thompson’s 2006 disclosure forms list myriad expenditures— $1,000 here, $2,000 there— on caterers, bakeries, graphic artists and the like. Superstar Napa County chef Thomas Keller of The French Laundry got $3,375 from Thompson’s campaign committee for providing appetizers, cookbooks and bread to the campaign. Arcata artist Duane Flatmo got $3,500 for providing the campaign with some art work. The City of Eureka took in $3,866 in rental fees for several events at the Adorni Center.

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