In addition to leading a penny-pinching collegiate life, four aspiring UW-Madison student politicians must also raise funds to run a high-profile political campaign.
The four candidates vying for a Dane County Board Supervisor role, Ashok Kumar, Adam Korn, Sean Cornelius and David Lapidus, have turned to the Madison community, friends and family to fund their campaigns.
Kumar says the money he is using to create his literature piece, buttons and website mainly come from people he has worked with in the Madison area.
'I'm proud to say that people I've worked with are now helping me in my campaign both financially and physically,' Kumar said.
Kumar explained how many of his contributors are 'people with normal jobs, working class folks' who are helping to support Kumar's campaign because, over time ,he has gained their respect and trust.
Korn also accepts donations from members in the Madison community, saying his money comes from, 'supporters who have known me for a while, family'people who have come out and donated.'
Korn admits it has been difficult to fund a campaign as a student because money is taken from many individual contributions. The majority of Korn's funding has gone to creating his website, flyers, buttons, banners and advertisements.
Cornelius said he is not running an overly large campaign and does not believe in accepting donations from general special interest groups 'whose business I might directly affect as a legislator.' He has only agreed to accept self-donations and personal loans from friends and family members.
Cornelius said that he believes that communicating with voters is more important than raising money.
'My philosophy is, and I hope this turns out to be right, is that in a place this small and for a position this anonymous as county supervisor votes really can't be bought,' Cornelius said. 'No mirage of media or flashy advertising is going to sway voters as much as simply going door-to-door and talking to people.'
Lapidus has also been trying to run a smaller campaign and agrees with Cornelius about the primary importance of talking to possible constituents.
'I haven't really been looking for money; I think it's a much better use of time to just go out and talk to voters,' Lapidus said.
Lapidus receives his funding from his mom and sister, personal loans and a few friendly donations. The money will mainly go towards creating pieces of literature to distribute on the campaign trail.
