www.washclean.org
Politics As Usual
Imagine you are a candidate running for the Washington state legislature. With the pressure to raise increasingly vast sums of money to run your campaign, who are you most likely to listen to: a drug company that gives you $30,000 or a person in your district who can give you $10?
And when the time comes to vote on a prescription drug bill, will your list of campaign donors have any influence on the way you vote?
"In the vast majority of cases, the biggest recipients of interest group money voted the way their donors wanted."
— Tacoma News Tribune, July 2003
The problem is not the fault of the politicians, but the way the system is set up. The influence of big money drowns out the voices of ordinary citizens.
We Can Do Better Than This
Imagine a government that listens to your voice and responds to the concerns of families, children, workers, and small businesses as much as it listens to well funded special interests.
Imagine a campaign where candidates spend their time talking about issues with constituents, rather than making phone calls to raise money.
Imagine an election where people not tied to big money sources can run for public office and have a real chance of winning.
Public campaign funding can bring new life to elections, increasing diversity and voter turnout. In fact, it's already working in Maine and Arizona.
"The campaign was different because I didn't have to fund raise. The real difference will be in serving, simply by having no encumbrance from private money."
—Maine Senator Lynn Bromley
How Does Public Campaign Funding Work?
To qualify for this voluntary program, candidates collect a signature and a small donation (for example, $5 to $25) from a set number of individuals in their district. They agree to accept no other private funding. They then receive a set amount of public campaign money, based on the average cost of campaigns for that position in previous years.
Cost
There is often a question of what the cost of Public Financing would be to the tax payers. We have done a complete analysis and estimate that the cost would be $3.36 per Washington resident per year. Since our electoral process is such a vital part of our democracy, it seems like quite a bargain to insure that our elected representatives put their constituents first.
Success Stories
In November 2002 in Arizona, Janet Napolitano became the first Governor to be elected under a clean money election law. As of 2004, 10 out of 11 statewide offices are held by those running with public funds, as are 58% of the seats in the Arizona House and 23% of the Senate.
In the state of Maine, the shift has been even more dramatic, with 77% of the House and 83% of the Senate composed of legislators who used the clean money system. Both states passed full public funding initiatives in the 1990's. Participation in both states has been equally Republican and Democrat. Minor party candidates have participated as well.
In North Carolina, public financing has been approved for candidates to the Supreme Court. In New Mexico, candidates for the Public Regulation Commission have the option to run on public funds.
"It's a good way of giving government back to the people - It lets people who are not well connected run for the legislature."
— Maine Senator Ed Youngblood
What's Happening Here
Here in Washington, we are building a statewide network of supporters to work for reform, and securing endorsements and assistance from key organizations and leaders. We are advocating a strong bill modeled after the Maine and Arizona laws, and supporting legislators willing to pass such a law for all state offices. If the legislature does not respond, then we plan to bring an initiative to the voters.
We have also been working on repealing the state-wide ban on public financing of elections at both the local and state levels. Senate Bill 6221, our local public financing bill, did pass in the 2006 legislative session, but it did not pass the House of Representatives, due to an extremely shortened session.
Read the entire update for this year's session.
What You Can Do
Sign up on our mailing list to support this movement to restore democracy.
Ask local leaders or organizations to endorse the concept of public financing of campaigns.
Send a donation to help us get the message out. Please make checks payable to Washington Public Campaigns. (Donations are not tax deductible.)
Call your state legislators. Let them know your concerns and tell them you support public campaign funding. Ask them what their views are and what they will do about campaign funding. Let us know who and when you called.
Let us know of any groups where we could send a speaker, or events where we could set up an information table.
Spread the word. Talk with your family, friends, and neighbors.
Join our working group if you want to be more involved in our effort. Contact us by mail or by email at
[email protected] .
Let us know what you would like to do in the future: be a speaker, raise funds, help with mailings, help with phone calls, staff a table at an event, collect signatures on an initiative.
Return to Top of Page
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
to DU
