For the benefit of taxpayers . . .
Many a politician holding a more obscure office looks for ways to project name ID to the voting public, to implant their name and make it “friendly familiar.” When voters cast their ballot for positions such as State Treasurer or State Auditor, and perhaps their counterparts in county office, they are usually not doing so based on policy considerations, more so just basic familiarity with the name (as long as there is no scandal attached). Often party machinery can carry the day for such positions but not always, particularly when high profile races lead the ticket.
The incumbent Treasurer of Iowa Michael Fitzgerald (D) has been using the feel-good favorability of the College Savings Iowa program to raise his name ID. The program was created by the state legislature but assigned to the Treasurer’s office to administer as part of a board that includes the governor and a key legislative representative. Read more about what it does here and here. Fitzgerald has been famously using administrative funds from the program to advertise the program associating his visage and name prominently and at public service advertising rates. It is of course free publicity to him and one of the more egregious politically self serving things to do.
Sam Clovis rightly called foul, energizing previous Republican complaints. Clovis made it a point to tell broadcast stations running the Fitzgerald/ College Savings Iowa spots, as formulated, that he would pursue the same rates for his campaign.
According to this report in the Miami Herald APNewsBreak: Iowa treasurer’s TV ad gets pushback
. . . at least three stations — KCCI-TV and WOI-TV in Des Moines, and KYOU-TV in Ottumwa — said they wouldn’t run it to avoid problems with federal guidelines governing political ads.
Station executives say the commercial, part of a $150,000 statewide ad campaign, would trigger a Federal Communications Commission requirement that they give Fitzgerald’s election opponent, Republican Sam Clovis, the chance to buy equal air time at the same lower rate for nonpolitical ads.
The Miami Herald picks up the story?
Why would a major out of state newspaper pick up on such seemingly localized insider baseball news? Because reasonably astute newspaper editors know that the political establishment knows the value of such manipulations in keeping government offices also advancing such office holders to higher office. We remember seeing George Ryan (R), of ignominious Illinois governor fame, then as Secretary of State, emblazoning his name everywhere on billboards on some official pretext and at taxpayer expense. Whatever he was advertising for authentic public information purposes was not dependent on his name being prominently attached. May we suggest that the intensity was prelude to his governorship aspirations?
In Iowa’s case the named broadcasters are right, if not because they see through the abuse of fund money then because of the implications for their future advertising rate schedule. It is our understanding that they would have to find the time to provide to a challenger rightly crying foul, even giving up higher rate full bore political scheduling to accommodate the challenger at the lower rate.
Incumbent Treasurers, Secretaries of State, and Auditors far and wide are probably more than a bit p’d off at the scrupulous Colonel right now. Good! Well played Colonel Clovis! Below is the press release regarding the matter from the Clovis campaign, sans the fund raising ask.
