Work Boots Don’t Have Lobbyists, and That’s the Problem
By Cindy Green, Democratic Candidate for Virginia House of Delegates, District 44
If I ever wrote a book, I think I’d call it “The Fastest Way to Become a Millionaire: Be a Career Politician.” Or maybe turn it into a game show. “How Big of a Campaign Donation Does It Take to Get a Bill Passed?”
Honestly, I’m surprised some career politicians haven’t already set up a Go-Fund-Me or eBay account. It would make things easier for their donors.
If you’ve heard me speak this campaign season, you know I talk a lot about campaign finance reform, or here in Virginia, the lack of it. We’re known as the ‘Wild West’ of campaign money. The rules are simple: take whatever you want, spend it pretty much however you want, just make sure you report it. Then you’re basically good to go.
Our Founding Fathers believed in one citizen, one vote. The Declaration of Independence says we are all created equal, and the 14th Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law. But they never imagined a time when millionaires and billionaires could buy a louder voice than everyone else combined. That’s the problem. When money buys access, the rest of us get shut out. Ordinary folks can’t write six-figure checks to get a meeting, but we’re the ones paying the price — in our hospitals, our schools, and our paychecks. That’s why I’m fighting for campaign finance reform, so every voice and every vote carries the same weight, no matter how much money’s in your bank account.
Let me give you an example. My campaign has raised around $18,000 so far. Every dollar came from real people, working folks, neighbors, and friends. I’ve been fortunate to have a few donors give over $1,000, and I’m grateful for their help. But most of my donations have been $100 or MUCH less, and every single one means the world to me.
Now let’s talk about what it costs to run for office. You drive by a small yard sign and probably don’t think much about it, but each one costs about six dollars. A billboard is over a thousand dollars just for the first month. T-shirts are more than ten dollars each, and we don’t have the kind of finances to think about television ads. We’ve done some radio, but that’s not cheap either.
Meanwhile, my opponent, according to VPAP, is sitting on nearly half a million dollars in campaign donations. Half a million dollars to run for a job that pays less than one-tenth of that a year. You can check for yourself at vpap.org.
Makes you wonder who he’s really working for.
Do you think your single vote, or even your whole family’s votes, carry the same weight with that politician as the one “vote” from the millionaire or billionaire who handed him a hundred-thousand-dollar check or MORE? Of course not.
That’s not democracy. That’s an auction.
And this isn’t about party lines. No matter who you vote for, we should all want fair elections and honest, responsible government. But that doesn’t happen when big money calls the shots and career politicians take the calls.
I didn’t get into this race to join the club. I got in because I’m tired of watching working people get left out. Out here in Southwest Virginia and throughout Rural America, folks wear work boots and shoes, not Italian loafers. We feed people. We teach kids. We provide healthcare. We build things. We fix things. We show up when there’s work to be done. But our voices are being drowned out by the people writing the biggest checks.
Work Boots Built America. Work boots & shoes built Rural Virginia. And it’s time government started working for the people wearing them again.
That starts with campaign finance reform. Real limits. Real transparency. Real accountability.
Until we fix that, it won’t matter who wins the next election. The system will keep working for the millionaires and billionaires, not the voters.
I’m Cindy Green, and I’ll be the hardest working Delegate in Richmond. Because I’ll be working for you, not the folks who can afford to buy their own seat at the table.
Cindy Green
Democratic Candidate for House of Delegates
District 44
📬 www.CindyGreen4VA.com
📩 [email protected]
🔗 https://linktr.ee/CindyGreen4VA
