So, how are our intrepid City Council hopefuls doing out on the campaign trail? The sun rises later and sets earlier, and the holidays set in. And the deadline for competing with public financing is closing in. This morning, the Oregonian has a pretty light article on the summary, but they give us some fun numbers to throw around.

But that's not to say light is horrible; there's just not that much floating about at this point beyond attempting to collect wayward contributions. After all, each hopeful needs 1,000 five dollar contributions from different Portland residents to qualify under the present system. If they obtain the requisite number of donations and signatures, the vaults open and $145,000 in primary monies will pour forth per candidate that qualifies.

Back to the question at-hand: how is everyone doing? Well, according to the Oregonian, Amanda Fritz blazes the trail with an amount greater than 800. Charles Lewis is hot on her heels, however, with almost 700. Next comes John Branam, sitting just over 400. Then Chris Smith with 375. And then finally Jeff Bissonnette with around 230.

Phew! It's interesting to see the varying stages of the candidates' progress. Lewis, who entered first, is out towards the front but not in the lead. Fritz, on the other hand, seems to have used her network from her last Council go-around to catapult to the front. The others, as noted, lag behind-- which is important to note considering the deadline approaches and certain candidates might face questions as to whether to drop out of the race or continue privately-financed if they fail to meet the public threshold.

Fritz and Lewis seem well on their way to obtaining public financing. After that, however, it'll take a major post-holiday effort by the others to reach the threshold in time. While I'm confident that those stated above can get there, here's a side editorial: come on everyone! We're not asking people to vote for you; just to like you enough to plop down five bucks to sponsor your candidacy. You know, for better democracy. While the Oregonian article makes a point of noting "it's harder than it looks," if you want to be on City Council you have to meet this crucial viability requirement.

But this horse race is ultimately moot if most candidates meet the 1,000 contribution requirement; it's not so much the order they finish, but how they spend the money afterwards. Sure, people who finish more quickly can demonstrate their advanced support network in the process, but it's not a be-all or end-all, especially since there are so many candidates in the race. Because, of course, in a race of this nature ideas are also really important. Frankly, one's existing network isn't as important as one's ideas. But, to be fair, it doesn't hurt if candidates are similar.

What are your thoughts on the public financing system? Do you think it needs tweaking in any way? How about the candidates themselves?