Campaign Finance Reform Round-up

Here is a round-up of progress from the Public Campaign Action Fund.

Santa Fe voters gave full public financing of elections a big thumbs up this past Tuesday in a special election to consider two ballot measures – one of which would give Santa Fe the opportunity to introduce Clean Elections public financing legislation to cover municipal races. The ballot measure passed with 61 percent of the vote, a good sign that the city council should move ahead with introducing that legislation. This is just the latest in a series of victories for New Mexico thanks to the ongoing efforts of Common Cause, the Center for Civic Policy, and dedicated activists statewide. In addition to the public financing option available for candidates for the Public Regulation Committee, New Mexico will also soon offer Clean Elections for Supreme Court candidates, and Albuquerque has a Clean Elections program in place for its citywide races.

Maryland Senator Takes A Meeting

In Baltimore, Maryland on Monday, a group of State Sen. Joan Carter Conway’s (D) constituents gathered for a town hall meeting with her to discuss Clean Elections legislation which is currently before the Education, Health and Environmental Affairs, which Sen. Carter Conway chairs. The bill must be passed out of the committee if it is to proceed to the floor of the Senate for a vote and Sen. Carter Conway – despite her enthusiastic support for the bill last year – has been more reluctant to advance the bill this year. Meeting attendants included representatives from the labor community and small business owners, among others. They all expressed their support for Clean Elections and urged the Senator to do what she had to to ensure it passed out of the committee, whatever the objections of Senate President Mike Miller, the legislature’s most notorious Clean Elections opponent.

Everyone Wants In in North Carolina and Portland

The expansion of North Carolina’s public financing system, thanks to the work of Democracy North Carolina, means that candidates for state auditor, insurance commissioner and superintendent of public instruction can now run with full public financing. Six of the 11 candidates for these seats are planning to run with their Clean Elections modeled system, with one declining and four undecided. Read more here! Meanwhile Portland’s Voter-Owned program for municipal races has already seen seven candidates for city council and Mayor qualify to run with public funds. Read more here from Portland resident and longtime public financing advocate Jeff Malachowsky about the diversity of candidates running with public financing and what it means for the City of Roses.

Options for Washington

Both chambers of the Washington legislature have approved a bill to give municipalities the option to pursue Clean Elections laws for their elections. This “Local Choice/Local Option” bill lifts the ban on public financing of campaigns that was put in place in 1992. The bill now goes to the desk of Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) for her approval or veto. Thanks to the people at Washington Public Campaigns for their ongoing efforts on behalf of Clean Elections!

Same Song, Second Verse

The 2006 midterm elections became a referendum on corruption in Congress which opened the door for the progress we’ve seen on advancing Fair and Clean Elections legislation, and that referendum shows all signs of being revived for this year’s elections with an even sharper focus on the ties between campaign cash, legislators, and legislative priorities. Already the presidential contest has seen heated debate over the presidential public financing system, the candidates’ ties to lobbyists and assorted shady characters, well-connected bundlers vs. small-dollar donations on the internet, and ever-present refrain that change is needed in Washington.

Congressional races promise to intensify this debate over who is running Washington, how money influences politics, and what our next Congress, and next President, plan to do about it. Consider that Sen. Ted Stevens’ (R-AK) long tenure in the Senate is in danger in light of allegations that he did legislative favors for friends and campaign supporters, or that Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) faces challengers on all fronts who will question his ties to big money and opposition to campaign reform. In the House, Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) still awaits trial on bribery charges as he runs for re-election, Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) will step down as the investigation into his ties to jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff continues, and Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ) will soon face trial on 35 criminal charges related to his abuse of his office. That doesn’t even capture the full degree to which the power-broker culture of Washington will be on trial in November.

This gives us a terrific opportunity to talk about our solution: the Fair Elections Now Act for the Senate and House. The ethics and lobbying legislation that has inched through Congress in the last year has taken the first step towards acknowledging the problems we face, but is nowhere near a sufficient antidote to the problem. We look forward to making Fair and Clean Elections a prominent issue in 2008, and hope you’ll be along to help us.