by Jeff Achen
Thisweek Newspapers

Call it a new twist on campaign finance. Or just call it a questionable novelty.

Whatever it's called, former congressional candidate and Apple Valley resident Coleen Rowley's eBay store is helping her pay off a small chunk of the debt from her failed election campaign.

A handful of people from across the country have been bidding and buying Rowley's autographed campaign yard signs, bumper stickers, and buttons.

Former Rowley executive assistant Russell Simmons said some of those buyers are former campaign contributors who want to help out.

The eBay store also features a vintage World War II dress Rowley wore on a campaign stop and an autographed copy of "Gorilla Dreams: The Legacy of Dian Fossey" by Georgianne Nienaber, a campaign volunteer and active conservationist.

All of the proceeds will go to help Rowley pay her debt.

Rowley said the idea came to her and her staff when they started brainstorming about what to do with all the leftover campaign items.

"It thought this was such a waste [to throw it away]," Rowley said. "I said we should try to sell it on eBay. Russ figured it out and followed through with it."

The Federal Election Commission lists Rowley's campaign debt at $6,258 as of the Nov. 27 reporting date.

Rowley said a last-minute push to send out campaign postcards to 100,000 undecided voters prior to election day added to her campaign debt.

Rowley's Accountant Shelli Hesselroth said that and other campaign transactions will be reported to the FEC prior to the Jan. 31, 2007 reporting deadline.

Rowley said her and her husband have since assumed their campaign debt by taking out a second mortgage on their home. Hesselroth said Rowley has no outstanding debt that she knows of.

Simmons said the eBay store certainly won't cover all the debt Rowley assumed, but could be a small help.

"It's not much money, but we may raise $1,000 to pay down the debt a little bit," he said.

Rowley, who says this was her first and only bid for political office, said she was overwhelmed with the costs associated with running a campaign.

She raised and spent nearly $700,000 while incumbent John Kline raised and spent nearly $1.5 million. Rowley also invested about $36,000 of her own money, according to Hesselroth. FEC data indicates

Kline did not spend any of his own money for the campaign.

Rowley said she found it difficult to ask people for money during her campaign saying campaigning was "rather out of character" for her. She said now that the campaign is over it's even harder to ask for money.

Despite her disappointment with the current state of politics, she said she won't run again. She did indicate, however, that she intends to remain active by speaking out on issues and educating local voters.

If her campaigning days are indeed in the past, supporters will still be able to get a piece of campaign history at her eBay store now through mid-January. That's when Simmons suspects they'll run out of things to sell.

Jeff Achen can be reached at av.thisweek@ecm-inc.com.