"I raised just under $3,000," Margarita Rebellol says with the incredulity of a political candidate whose extensive Rolodex failed her.
Rebellol knows people. Hundreds. Maybe thousands. Hordes attended the multicultural Celebrate America Parade she organized last year. As president of the East Las Vegas Development Corporation, she counts top-of-the-letterhead types as friends. Not to mention the gaggle of folks who've used the group's self-help services. More contacts came in 1998, when she cofounded the Boricua Association, a socio-civic group for Puerto Ricans. Over the years, she's worked that Rolodex like a lobbyist, garnering financial support for the Boricua Association's scholarship program. The first year, in 1998, the group awarded $500. Last year: $20,000.
So when Lynette Boggs McDonald vacated the Ward 2 City Council seat for the County Commission post, Rebellol the activist become Rebellol the candidate. She didn't expect to compete financially with criminal defense lawyer (and eventual winner) Steve Wolfson or wield insider sway like city Planning Commission head Richard Truesdell and city Planning Director Bob Genzer. She expected to rely on that extensive network of friends to help spread her message, and if they kicked in some campaign loot, all the better.
She got 86 votes.
That's more than 1,100 out of first place.
"It would have made me feel good if I could have at least gotten $5 from every person, even a dollar," Rebellol laughs. "I learned a lot about people—like who your friends really are."
There were also no worries about soft-money violations in Firouzeh Forouzmand's campaign. Rebellol's kitty seemed a George Bush-ian haul compared to Forouzmand's $300, and Rebellol's vote tally almost doubled Forouzmand's 49. (Both thumped last-place finisher Duane Spencer and his 23 votes).
"I wasn't expecting miracles; I had faith in the people and the system. But you know that money makes the world go around," says Forouzmand, performing arts center coordinator for the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District. "I said from the get-go that I was going to campaign by knocking on doors. I went to several subdivisions. For a working woman, you have only so many hours you can put into this. And you can't just go to people's homes at anytime ... you have to think about disturbing them."
Rebellol and Forouzmand insist they don't know the 135 people who voted for them; Ward 2 has a dearth of registered Hispanic voters and most of Forouzmand's friends live outside the district. Both say they might run for office again, Forouzmand sooner than later.
"While I was in line voting [for herself], I asked a lady how she made a decision about who to vote for. She said she quizzed the people who knocked on doors and evaluated the mailers. I told her I was a candidate. She asked my name and told me she was voting for me and showed me her ballot—my name was marked off," Forouzmand says. "Sure, there's no substitute for thousands of dollars, but it showed that the old-fashioned way may work. It made me feel that I had touched someone's life. I was not on a power trip. It was perfectly fine if I didn't get the position. I just wanted to be part of the decision-making process."