Now, the Local Races Are Awash in Cash
Jeffrey Osborn says he was surprised at how cheap it was to sway Loudoun County's elections. "The builders have been buying the county for just dirt," he says. So Osborn, a venture capitalist, set out to beat them at their own game by pumping more than $50,000 into the campaigns to support eight slow-growth candidates for the county board of supervisors in 1999. They all won.</br></br>Stunned by the defeat, pro-development interests in the Washington suburb have vowed to unseat the new board, which has sliced more than 80,000 houses from county plans. "If you are a major player in a billion-dollar industry, are you going to let your industry evaporate?" asked Bryan Brooks, a local developer. The developers' response? Up the ante.</br></br>That's no small threat in Virginia, known nationally as the Wild West of campaign finance. There are no contribution limits for state or local offices here, making anything possible. "If you want to give $6 billion to some guy who's running for sheriff or local delegate, you can do it," says Steve Calos, executive director of the Richmond-based Center for Open, Ethical and Accountable Government.</br></br>Big money goes small town? You betcha. Americans are used to thinking of national politics as the place where the big decisions get made -- and where the big money gets spent. That premise drove the campaign finance reform legislation President Bush signed last month. But that ballyhooed legislation did nothing to stem the flow of money to local and state campaigns. Local politics are just as fortified -- some say corrupted -- by cash as federal ones, and often more so. From the Blue Ridge mountain foothills of Loudoun to Laguna Hills, Calif., the excesses of K Street are flourishing on the Main Streets that lead to the nation's state houses, city halls and county buildings.</br></br>The most intimate arena of our democracy can also be the easiest to manipulate. A little money can go a long way in local contests. The rules are looser, and fewer people are watching to see if those rules are followed. Voter turnout is often lower, giving one-issue champions and special interest groups greater influence. As on Capitol Hill, contributions often make great investments. "People don't give money to honor America or show their love of democracy. They are buying something," says Calos. "Money buys results."