Who says they’ve cleaned up Times Square?
Not without Martha they haven’t, says John Small.
Small is leading a campaign to buy a “Save Martha Stewart” billboard in time for the queen of housekeeping’s Jan. 12 trial for insider trading.
His Web site, savemartha.com, has raised $2,000 so far – with only $18,000 more to go.
“We’ve gotten a lot of $10, $20 donations,” Small said. “Howard Dean-size donations.”
It will take at least $20,000 for Small to erect the “If the Stock Sale Was Legit, You Must Acquit” billboard in Times Square, listing the names of all the donors with a “honk if you love Martha” tagline.
Small is confident he’ll get the money by the holidays, though, which means the billboard can have, “a Christmas/choral theme, with a Westport, Conn., look to it.”
Small is a New York marketing consultant who started his Web site shortly after the Stewart investigation began.
An avid fan, he used to watch her show every day when it was on at 9 a.m.; now he TiVos it at 2 a.m. (“It’s not exactly the best time of day to garden,” he noted. )
Small said Stewart is “an American hero. And they want to put her in jail for the corporate equivalent of jaywalking.”
So why the billboard?
“How do I put this without getting in trouble?” Small mused. “I’m hoping to influence the jury pool as much as possible.”
Small added that if he doesn’t raise enough money for Times Square, he’ll content himself with Peoria, Ill.
In the meantime, he’s hoping to reel in larger donors. He already has a call in to Martha supporter Rosie O’Donnell.
“Hopefully we’ll hear back from her and get the billboard up next week,” Small said.