Independent Expenditures Aim To Boost CUCandidates

CHICAGO - (10/26/04) -- CUNA will spend $156,000 on twoinitiatives independent of the candidates to help boost creditunion-backers in the final days of the campaign, including an$80,000 cable TV ad on behalf of Rep. Phil Crane, the longestserving Republican in Congress and a key member of the tax-writingWays and Means Committee. The Crane commercials, 30-second slots,begin Tuesday morning and will run through election day touting the18-term Congressman's record, according to Richard Gose, politicaldirector for CUNA. CUNA also spent $76,000 to send 180,0000 directmail pieces--three different pieces to 60,000 households--insupport of Democratic State Sen. Allyson Schwartz, co-sponsor ofthe state's 2002 credit union parity bill, who is running in thestate's 13th House district. "They emphasize the positives of bothcandidates," Gose, told The Credit Union Journal. Under federalelection law such independent expenditures must not be coordinatedin any way with the candidates' campaigns. CUNA had success in 2002with its first foray into independent expenditures, helpingnewcomers Michael Michaud in Maine and Jon Porter in Nevada, winelection to the House.