I ran for city council a few months ago. I planned to run for ONE TERM and restore citizen representation instead of endorsing career politics. The filing fee was $144. And if I were willing to bother people at home I would have won. Without knocking on a single door or making a call, I got over 500 votes.
Now Denny Heck is not running for re-election in my district. I started the process for a one-term Congressional run. Do you know what the filing fee is?
One thousand seven hundred forty dollars.
I see things like that and the Top Two primary that was enacted in 2004- it’s like an election before the election, and it sure looks like the status quo of the two-party system is in place and preventing any improvement.
Are you interested in citizen representation over career politics?
To me a $144 fee seems reasonable, but $1,740 is a bit much. Maybe the difference is due to the latter being a federal office, or because District 10 includes parts of 2 counties? That said, while nosing around the internet rabbit hole to find out, I did discover a way to avoid paying any fees – seriously! See page 19 of the Election Guide for Candidates (https://www.co.pierce.wa.us/DocumentCenter/View/66347/2020-Candidate-Guide-?bidId=) Apparently you can avoid the fee by collecting one signature (of a qualified voter in your district) for every dollar of the fee. So, hit up 1,740 of your neighbors and you’re in! Seems like a reasonable option (although I still think the fee is high).