Want Voters to Notice You? Be Prepared to Pay
When I decided to run for Culver City Council, I knew a campaign would cost money. Candidates need signs, postcards, a website, printed literature, and perhaps people to help distribute materials.
What I did not fully appreciate was how often a candidate must decide whether to pay simply to be seen.
I recently received the Culver City Observer’s website advertising rates, effective July 1, 2026. The prices provide another glimpse into the strange world of local politics.
According to the rate sheet, the monthly prices include:
The document lists “Home Page Ads” twice—once at $350 per month and again at $450 per month. Because the size section separately describes a “Homepage Splash Ad,” the $450 listing may refer to that option, but the rate sheet does not clearly say so.
A candidate purchasing only one $350 home-page advertisement for the three months before an election would spend $1,050. A $450 advertisement during the same period would cost $1,350. Using multiple advertisements could quickly cost several thousand dollars.
And that is only one website.
Advertising Is Not the Same as News Coverage
There is nothing inherently improper about a local newspaper charging for advertising. Newspapers and community websites have expenses. They must pay writers, editors, photographers, website providers, insurance, and other operating costs. Local journalism cannot survive without revenue.
Candidates also benefit from having a way to introduce themselves to residents who might never attend a forum or visit a campaign website.
But voters should understand the difference between three very different things:
News coverage: A publication independently reports on a candidate or campaign.
Editorial support: A publication expresses its own opinion or endorsement.
Paid advertising: A candidate pays the publication to display a campaign message.
These categories should be clearly separated. A voter should never have to wonder whether a candidate is appearing prominently because that person is especially newsworthy or because the campaign purchased advertising.
The Advantage of Money
A well-financed candidate can purchase larger advertisements, run them for several months, send repeated mailers, hire campaign workers, and appear almost everywhere a voter looks.
A candidate with less money may have equally thoughtful ideas but remain largely invisible.
This creates a fundamental problem. Voters may naturally assume that the names they see most often belong to the strongest or most serious candidates. In reality, those may simply be the candidates with the most money, the largest donor networks, or the greatest support from political organizations.
Repetition creates familiarity. Familiarity can become credibility. Credibility can become votes.
That does not mean paid advertising is deceptive. It means money can help manufacture name recognition before voters have compared the candidates’ qualifications or proposals.
The Difficult Decision Facing a Candidate
Suppose I purchase an advertisement from a local publication. Am I supporting community journalism, communicating with voters, or participating in a system that favors candidates who can afford access?
The honest answer may be: all three.
If I refuse to advertise, I may fail to reach thousands of residents. If I pay, I become part of the same political spending system I am examining.
This is what makes politics strange. Candidates are expected to criticize the influence of money while also raising and spending enough money to remain competitive.
A candidate can have excellent ideas, attend community meetings, write detailed policy proposals, and speak directly with residents. But if voters repeatedly see someone else’s name on websites, postcards, signs, and social media, thoughtful ideas may lose to simple visibility.
There Are Legitimate Benefits
Paid local advertising also has real advantages.
It can help:
Introduce lesser-known candidates to the community.
Inform voters about candidate forums and public events.
Direct residents to detailed policy proposals.
Support local journalism.
Reach people who do not use social media.
Give candidates a way to communicate without relying on political clubs or endorsements.
A small local publication may also offer a candidate something that Facebook, Google, or other large companies cannot: a geographically concentrated audience interested specifically in Culver City.
From that perspective, local advertising may be more useful—and more beneficial to the community—than sending campaign money to a large technology company.
But Candidates Need Better Information
Before spending hundreds or thousands of dollars, a candidate should ask:
How many people visit the website each month?
How many are Culver City residents?
How many times will the advertisement appear?
Can the publication report how many people clicked it?
Will political advertisements be clearly labeled?
Are all candidates offered the same prices and placement?
What does the $450 “Home Page Ad” actually represent?
Are discounts available for purchasing several months?
Will the advertisement also appear in email newsletters or only on the website?
The rate sheet also accepts JPG, GIF, and SWF files. SWF is an old Adobe Flash format that modern browsers generally no longer support. That unusual requirement—and the two different prices both labeled “Home Page Ads”—makes it especially important to obtain clarification before paying.
A price alone does not tell a candidate whether an advertisement is a good investment.
What Voters Should Know
When you see a candidate repeatedly displayed on a local website, remember that visibility may have been purchased.
That does not make the candidate dishonest. Advertising is a normal part of campaigning. However, it also does not prove that the candidate has broader public support, better qualifications, or stronger ideas.
Voters should look beyond the advertisement.
Visit the candidate’s website. Read the candidate’s actual positions. Attend a forum. Ask who is funding the campaign. Compare what every candidate is proposing—not merely who appears most often.
My Commitment
If I purchase political advertising, I believe I should be transparent about it. Voters deserve to know which communications were paid for and which were produced as independent reporting.
I also believe local publications should provide identical rates and opportunities to every legally qualified candidate. Political advertisements should be clearly identified, and publications should carefully separate their advertising decisions from their news and endorsement decisions.
Local journalism deserves financial support. At the same time, access to voters should not quietly become an auction in which the candidate with the most money occupies the most visible space.
That is the uncomfortable reality of campaigning: democracy is supposed to be based on ideas, but communicating those ideas costs money.
Welcome to Episode 22 of the strange world of politics—where before voters can decide whether they support you, you may first have to pay for the opportunity to be noticed.
0 Comments
Comments are reviewed before they appear.