Kansan sticks it to election system - LA Times

[chat_noir]

A simple online comic strip raises heaps for his Democratic bid.
By P.J. Huffstutter, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
July 28, 2008
OLATHE, KAN. -- When Sean Tevis decided to run for a seat in the Kansas Legislature, he faced a serious problem: money. Local political advisors warned the campaign novice that he would need a war chest of at least $26,000 to compete against his entrenched Republican rival.

It seemed like a fortune to the 39-year-old Democrat. Everyone he knew here was either on a fixed income, worried about losing a job or fretting that the nation's stumbling economy could spread to this southwestern suburb of Kansas City, Kan.

So Tevis created a droll online cartoon strip to appeal to potential supporters wherever they might be, using stick figures to represent himself, his GOP opponent and others.

In one panel, a stick-figure Tevis greets a constituent by rattling off a stream of personal facts he's found online about her -- including her birthdate, voting pattern, divorce, paycheck, credit card balances and medical history -- to illustrate his interest in protecting individual privacy.


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-candidate28-2008jul28,0,4489963.story