March 24, 2009

Place your bets!

Update: Our first bets (pledged cans of food to the food drive) are in ... we'll keep the tally updated below:

Updated Results: Helding takes the lead with the maximum donation of 20 cans! And another 20 cans!

Update 2: Former Alderman John Engel puts 10 cans on Alderman Jim Spangenberg. "Jim is a good guy and it comes through," Engel said. "He's also totally unaffiliated with special interest and political party people. Probably the only true independent in the fray."

Update 3: Here's a bet on 20 cans for Spangenberg, with this comment: "Jim's eight years as an alderman here in Racine along with his experience in running a successful business in the West Racine area for 30 years (Johnson Furniture) makes him an excellent choice for mayor."

Update 4: Here's 20 cans for Plache: "Though she plays a little politics she’ll be able to bring needed money to the area. She still has political connections/pull in a lot of the right places that could be useful to Racine, let’s face it anything would help."

Update 5: Ray Fay is in the race with a 20-can bet ... and Jim Spangenberg gets another 20.

Update 6: Twenty cans for Plache: "I think she has the highest score when you combine ability, reputation, connections, focus, and integrity. I'm also fed up with good ol' boy politics, loans, and back-room deals, and I believe that Kim would be great as Racine's first female mayor. I'm not suggesting that all of the male candidates are good ol' boys - I just think that Kim is well-qualified and the change would be good for us at this juncture."

Jim Spangenberg - 70
Greg Helding - 68
John Dickert - 55
Kim Plache - 45
Pete Karas - 25
Raymond Fay - 20
Jaimie Charon - 0
Jody Harding - 0
Leisia Hill-Driver - 0
QA Shakoor II - 0
Bob Turner - 0

Send your "bets" (see rules below) on who will win the mayoral primary to: racinepost@gmail.com

Original post: We're two weeks out from the mayoral primary election. Let's have some fun over the next 14 days and help out a nonprofit organization along the way.

We'd like people to "place bets" on who's going to win the primary election. But instead of money - we're pretty sure that'd be illegal - we'd like people to bet non-perishable food items for the Racine County Food Bank.

For example, if you believe Kim Plache is going to finish in the top of the April 7 primary election, you'd bet, say five cans of food on her. If QA Shakoor is your guy, maybe you bet three cans on him.

All of this is for fun and will be enforced on the honor system. We'll keep track of the total number of food items "bet" on a candidate and post the tallies on the site as a running tally of support for candidates. To keep things fair, and honest, people will need to write us at: racinepost@gmail.com to place their "bets." That way we can track "bets," to a degree, and hopefully prevent people from making outlandish pledges they have no intention of following through on. (Note on privacy: We'll never give out our use your email address for anything other than this little contest.)

In the end, supporters of the top two candidates are absolved from making their pledges to the Food Bank (though hopefully you'll follow through!) and betters on the remaining nine candidates are expected to make good on their wagers with donations.

Make sense? Let's review the rules:

1. Place your "bet" on the candidate, or candidates, you believe will win the primary election by sending an email to: racinepost@gmail.com. The email should include your name, the candidate you're supporting and how many cans of food you're donating. (Note: If you'd like, and give us permission, also include a section on why think a certain candidate will win and we'll post those on RacinePost.)

2. We'll tally the results and keep track of the total number of food items donated to each candidate for all to see. It'll be an ongoing poll/gauge of conventional wisdom on who people are supporting for mayor.

3. Betters on the winning campaigns are freed of their bets and don't have to make their donations. Betters on the other candidates are expected to follow through on their donations to the Food Bank (though no one will enforce the payment - it's all on the honor system).

4. One bet per person with a max bet of 20 cans of food to the Food Bank.

So that's it. The betting windows are open and we encourage any and everyone to pledge cans of food for your candidates, and tell us why you backed the candidates you did.

Good luck to all candidates ... and may the most donations to the Racine County Food Bank win!

12 comments:

  1. Absolved? I bet 50 billion cans of food on Kim Plache. Nice idea, despite the seeming error in logic.

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  2. Yeah, that's the part about the "honor system" and sending us an email with your contact information so people don't make silly pledges.

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  3. Dang it, I gave 5 cans of food to the food drive at the forum last night because I got a facebook update from John Dickert asking us to support the cause. Oh well, both the Post and Dickert campaign are doing a good job bringing attention to a need and seeking everyone's help with the solution. I'll have to clean out the cupboards a little more to cast my vote for JOHN DICKERT ! Good work last night Pete and Dustin.

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  4. Would an iou for $ be legal?
    How 'bout a share of Modine Stock?
    When does a 'bet' become illegal?

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  5. Oh brother, I am sure I make less than most. But, I also gave at the food drive (20 cans of food). Bought them at Piggly Wiggly. Dustin has come up with a FUN way to support our food banks. Most people should be able to follow the logic of the challenge. Only someone with skewed logic would seize the opportunity to play dirty. Shame we even need rules.

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  6. Shame we even need politicians.

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  7. 5 cans on Dickert
    5 cans on Karas
    5 cans on Plache

    Yup, 15 cans.

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  8. 15 cans that no African American makes the cut due spitting the vote
    side bet of 1 can that Coe beats Fair

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  9. If someone is only voting for a candidate based on skin color then they should be worried about split votes. My white neighbors and friends are voting for mayoral candidates with dark complexions. If any of them do make it through, I hope it is QA.

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  10. Cans schans....the food bank needs cash because they can buy food at like 14¢ per lb. I gave $5 at the forum at Gateway because it's better than stuffing cans in my purse or dragging a bag with me.

    With that money they can then buy meats, milk, whatever they need. Seriously, 14¢ a lb. is a very good deal and I know they hate to ask for cash themselves so I'm bringing it up myself--because I have no shame. ;)

    So, put me down for $5 on Karas and you can figure out how many cans that equals.

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  11. Why would Plache's state experience qualify her to help the city as Mayor when it did not do much when she was in the statehouse?

    Same goes for Turner...

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  12. "...Ignore all the stuff about the pot head..."

    As a pot head myself, I can assure you that PK is not one. SLANDER I say! Slanderous lies! At some point you may realize that being "Green" doesn't necessarily mean smoking it.

    However, if he was one, I'd take that over a pervert any day, any time.

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