Ben Wyatt Runs for Congress

| Francoise Stovall

Is anyone else out there a Parks & Recreation fan? I love this strange, big-hearted comedy that has always been an optimistic counterpoint to the dirty politics melodramas of Scandal and House of Cards. I’ve loved watching Leslie Knope evolve from bumbling public servant to the face of competent government service provider.

This week’s episode introduced a new story arc I’m excited about, when Ben Wyatt is asked to run for Congress. Ben is a great choice for Congress (“We’re talking about the House of Representatives, Ben, you might be overqualified,” his consultant tells him). He’s been in public service his whole life, understand the constituents he’d be representing, and is great at building consensus and compromise.

Too bad that won’t serve him in his campaign at all.

The most striking absence from the episode is money. Consultants are magically hired. Ads mysteriously run. Ben begins putting together a campaign platform long before he starts making a list of donors he’ll need to call.

Unfortunately, the first question Ben would be asked if he were considering a run in the real world is: “Can you raise $1.1 million?”

This is a daunting question for anyone considering holding elected office, and it often has the effect that people who come from modest and working class backgrounds, or who aren’t connected to networks of traditional money — often women and people of color, decide not to run at all even if they’d be great at the job.

I’m curious to see how, or if, Parks & Recreation tackles this subject. Here are some episodes we’d expect to see from this plot:

To raise the necessary amount of money for his campaign, Ben is forced to sit in a small room equipped only with a phone, calling wealthy donors from around the country for six hours a day. For every donor he talks into giving the maximum amount to his campaign ($5400), his campaign manager buys him a calzone. Slowly, he learns to anticipate their concerns about taxes and begins to reassure them that he won’t raise taxes on the one percent. He eats a lot of calzones.

Ben learns that Sweetums plans to back Bobby Newport in a primary bid against him. He is able to convince them to throw their considerable financial support behind him instead after he agrees to drop his opposition to a soda tax, and to introduce a bill in Congress that would include taffy as a vegetable for school lunches. Andy is very excited to learn he’s eating more vegetables now that taffy is included.



Gryzzl sets up a Super PAC for the sole purpose of electing Ben. They name Donna the director of the PAC. The PAC’s slogan is “Treat Yo Self — to Ben Wyatt for Congress.” Even though Leslie knows she can’t coordinate with Donna, she keeps accidentally telling her campaign details when they go to JJ’s diner every week.

As a prestigious member of the local business community, Tom sets Ben up with a meeting with the Chamber of Commerce’s PAC. Ben decides to come out against a raise in the minimum wage, even though Pawnee’s newly booming economy would benefit from higher paid workers. Leslie is disappointed but understands that in order to raise enough money, Ben has to compromise some of his beliefs.



Do you know what would get Ben out of these not-so-hilarious scenarios? A system to fund elections that relies on small donors matched with public funds. If the Government By the People Act applied to Pawnee, Ben could raise $10 and $20 donations from his friends and neighbors, which would be matched six-to-one with public funds, and he would be able to spend his time speaking to voters instead of cuddling up to Sweetums and Gryzzl.

Francoise Stovall Francoise Stovall is the digital director at Every Voice.