The chiropractic candidates face different challenges in their journeys to be national representatives. Let's look at the chiropractic candidates and the races they face:
Meredith Bakke, DC (R-Wisconsin)
"I believe it is long, long overdue that we have a chiropractor in the United States Congress. We bring a unique perspective, and not just to health care issues. Yes, we understand the challenges involved in health care choices, access, prevention, and the crisis in Medicare. But we also know about small businesses, because we are running one; we see the problems, struggles and challenges of families from all walks of life who come to us daily."Dr. Bakke, of DeForest Wisconsin, is best known for her work as a member of the Wisconsin Chiropractic Examining Board and the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards (FCLB). She is currently the FCLB's representative to the Council on Chiropractic Education.
Scott Klug (R), the congressional incumbent in Wisconsin's second district is retiring. This district includes Madison, the capital city of Wisconsin. Because the incumbent is not in the race, Meredith will be facing numerous opponents in the primary. Contributions to her campaign from outside her district will be of critical value. She has personally committed $100,000 to the race.
Peter Ferguson, DC (D-Ohio)
"Let me tell you why it is important to have a chiropractor in Congress. You need to know first, not last, when legislation is introduced which can affect your ability to care for your patients. You need to have a voice you can trust to speak the truth, not rhetoric, on the floor of the House. Most importantly, you need to know you can trust someone to really listen to your ideas and your concern, and to act on them with integrity and conviction."Dr. Ferguson also hails from the FCLB, where he was a district II director. He is a member of the Congressional Oversight Committee for the Department of Defense's Chiropractic Demonstration Project.
Pete will be running in Ohio's 16th district, which includes Canton. His opposition is Ralph Regula (R), a 73-year-old 13-term incumbent. Pete will have to work hard to win the Democratic nomination in the primary, and then face the tough challenge of the November 3rd general election.
Paul Phillips, DC (R-Washington)
"We have never had a chiropractor elected to Congress. We have never had a chiropractor take or be the lead on one of our bills in Congress. We have always depended on someone else to take our message, then complain because they don't know about chiropractic. This is why we need chiropractors in Congress. No one will look out for chiropractic like a chiropractor. Now is the time!"Dr. Phillips has been very involved on the board of the Washington State Chiropractic Association (WSCA), chairing their government relations committee. He has also highly active in the community, including being a talk-show host on a local radio station. Paul is running in the extremely conservative 3rd district of southwestern Washington. As a Republican candidate, his biggest battle will be in the primary election on September 15th. The incumbent, Linda Smith (R) is in her second term, and was the first person in Washington state history to serve in Congress as the result of a write-in petition drive. This is Paul's second attempt to win the Republican primary.
Money, and Lots of It
While each of these congressional races has its own unique challenges, there are some points they share. Winning requires money, and lots of it. Each candidate must raise between $250,000 and $750,000 to have a chance of winning, not to mention the personally costs in terms of being out of the office and away from their families.
But with a profession of more than 50,000 chiropractors to support them, these number are not so daunting. An adult in the U.S. can donate up to $2,000 to a congressional candidate's campaign. And while this may seem like a great deal of money, consider that there are still nine months between now and the election. If you donated $222 per month over that nine months, or approximately $52 per week, you would have donated the legal limit to the candidate (actually, two dollars shy).
As a show of our support for these candidates, Dynamic Chiropractic will be publishing the names of those DCs who support at least one of our three candidates. Here's all you have to do to help put a DC in D.C.:
To Support the Candidates
Dr. Meredith BakkePlease send a check to:Dr. Peter FergusonMeredith Bakke for Congress
P.O. Box 441
DeForest, WI 53532To contact Dr. Bakke: tel: (608) 846-8870.
Send a check, use you Visa or Mastercard, or write a letter authorizing them to charge your credit card monthly or weekly:Dr. Paul PhillipsFriends for Ferguson
P.O. Box 224
Middlebranch, OH 44652-0224To contact Pete: tel: (330) 493-8030; fax: (330) 493-7410; e-mail: ferguson4u-aol.com
Please send your check to:Look for additional articles on each of our chiropractic congressional candidates in upcoming issues.Paul Phillips for Congress
650 N. Devine Road
Vancouver, WA 98661To contact Dr. Phillips: tel: (360) 693-2597; fax: (360) 695-0272; e-mail: paulphillips-paulphillips.com; website: www.paulphillips.com
(Editor's note: See Dr. Sportelli's article in this issue.)
Dynamic Chiropractic editorial staff members research, investigate and write articles for the publication on an ongoing basis. To contact the Editorial Department or submit an article of your own for consideration, email
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