Sadly, being a candidate for UUA president is very expensive. The last two successful candidates spent over $100,000.

The effect of this is that, just as in our national politics, money plays far too big a role. We Unitarian Universalists uphold democracy as a religious value, yet the truth is that our system for selecting leadership is not very democratic.

In order to run, I, too, am having to ask people for money. It takes a lot of money to attend conferences and forums, print campaign literature, produce videos, etc. We have been frugal, but just doing the basics costs a lot of money.

A number of people have already been very generous. A lot more people will need to be generous if we are to mount a full campaign effort. (Feel free to click on the “Donate!” link at the top of the page and make your own contribution.)

However, as this campaign goes forward, the contributions that take my breath away are the small ones. Let me mention three. One was a youth at General Assembly who came by our booth when I was not there. He wanted to support the campaign, but had little money. He emptied his wallet of the $11 he had.

The second contribution I want to mention was check that was mailed to us. It was a check for $50 from an elderly man I do not know. He lives in a very small town that has no UU church (and none nearby). He wrote a note with the check. He said he wished it could be for $500, but that he and his wife live on Social Security and things are tight.

The third was a check for $25 from a single mom. I know her circumstances. This was a sacrificial gift. She said she wants to support change in our movement.

I know it sounds sappy, but these are the donors to which I feel most responsible.