Legislator raises every cent of his campaign funds outside of district

Most politicians worry about publilc perceptions when they are raising campaign contributions -- how will it look when I file my finance report?

Most make a real effort to balance big checks with lots of smaller contributions, and to make sure that a reasonable amount of the money comes from people in the district they represent.

Sen. Russ Feingold has gone so far as to make pledges, in past campaigns, about how much money he'll accept from non-Wisconsin donors versus in-state contributors.

So it's refreshing to see that State Sen. Ron Brown (R-Eau Claire) has taken a new approach. It's something like "Perception be damned!" Or maybe it's "The public be damned!"

Those pesky Democrats have discovered that during the first six months of 2005, Brown raised $11,000 -- and not a penny of it came from his Eau Claire area Senate district. He didn't even bother to hold a small-dollar fundraiser in his district. His average contribution was a whopping $475.

Where did the money come from? Of the total, $9500 was from individuals, all in checks of at least $250. A pro-school choice conduit passed through $5,600 to Brown, including $1700 from Milwaukeean Howard Fuller and his wife, Deborah McGriff. The other $3,900 in conduit money was from people in California, Michigan, and Virginia.

Then there are the Waltons, and I don't mean John-Boy and Elizabeth. The Wal-Mart, school choice Waltons, whose addresses are in Wyoming and Arkansas, kicked in $3,900. That's chicken feed to a Walton, but quite a bit of dough for a State Senator who's not raising any money anywhere else.

So why this big investment in Ron Brown from school choice advocates? No one has tied it to a specific vote -- yet. Maybe it hasn't been cast; this could be an investment in the future. There is no doubt a string attached.

Brown also accepted $1500 in political action committee money, $500 from CitiCorp and $1000 from the Wisconsin Builders. Brown's report.