Reply #7: From This Corner-Fair Elections Reborn from Clean Elections

[Melissa G]

From This Corner-Fair Elections Reborn from Clean Elections

By Richard Elrick

In the spirit of the Christmas season, when rebirth and regeneration are in the air, it seems altogether appropriate that one of this New Year’s resolutions should be for the renewal of our tired and failed political system. There can be little doubt that politics in the United States is sick and getting sicker. Almost weekly, newspapers offer up stories of corruption and the influence of big money lobbyists on our elected officials.

From Tom Delay, to Jack Abramoff, to Bob Ney, to the most recent, disgusting scene of a tearful Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham resigning from Congress after pleading guilty to bribery charges, examples of politicians running amok abound. Every day corporations and assorted other wealthy special interests pump $2 million into the coffers of our elected officials in Washington and their political parties. For their money, they get an estimated $160 billion a year in subsidies and tax breaks that cost each taxpayer about $1,500 per year!

In Massachusetts, what used to be known as the Clean Elections movement has been reborn as Mass Voters for Fair Elections. Readers may remember that under the 1998 Clean Elections law, approved by voters by a margin of 2 to 1, legislators would receive public funding for their campaigns in exchange for voluntarily adhering to strict fundraising and spending limits. Unfortunately, the law was short-lived with former Speaker Finneran and his legislative colleagues joining Gov. Mitt Romney to repeal the ballot law in 2003.

Since then, proponents of public campaign financing have been regrouping. They and their supporters in the legislature have recently filed the Fair Elections Financing Act, which was written to reflect concerns raised by lawmakers over the previous Clean Elections law. This time, for example, qualifying candidates will receive matching funds based on how much money they raised within limits. Under the old Clean Elections scenario, all candidates who qualified would receive a pre-determined amount of money, no matter how much they gathered themselves.

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