NY Campaign Spending
By Ed Davis
Posted on Tue Mar 21, 2006 at 08:48:19 AM EST
Rachel Leon, director of Common Cause New York, yesterday wrote
an op-ed in the NY Times describing the findings of
a new report on campaign spending in the state and telling New York State to "follow the lead" of Connecticut and New York City and adopt public financing of campaigns, citing the high cost of running for public office in the state:
When candidates feel pressure to raise large sums of money to be competitive, wealthy individuals and other corporate and special interest groups grow in influence and importance while the rest of us are pushed ever more into the sidelines of our democracy.
Here's more of Rachel's piece:
The fact that an individual is allowed to give
more money to a candidate for New York State office than to a
presidential contender should tell New Yorkers that our campaign
finance laws need to be fixed.
Many New Yorkers have a sense that
money plays an all too important role in state political campaigns.
Many also believe that campaigns are paid for largely by special
interests and wealthy individuals who represent neither the diversity
of our state nor the best interests of the public at large in their
interactions with elected officials.
But sensing that things are bad
and facing up to the ugly facts are not the same. Sensing warrants
investigation. Seeing the facts warrants action.
Well, the facts are
in. My group's research shows that campaigns in New York rank among the
most expensive in the country. While 99 percent of New Yorkers give
nothing directly to state-level political campaigns, those few who do
give make contributions in amounts that are far beyond the reach of
most New Yorkers. ...
But if New Yorkers are to have confidence in
the system that elects their public servants, attention must also be
paid to how campaign funds are spent. The single largest category of
expenses for state legislative candidates in the 2004 election cycle
was not television ads or fundraising but "other." Winning candidates
also tend to spend a significant portion of their money outside the
height of the election season. These two troubling facts highlight the
pervasive practice of candidates using campaign funds for purposes that
stretch the definition of "campaign expense" to its breaking point.
When
candidates can use campaign funds for everything from country club
memberships to luxury car leases, special interests are able to make an
end-run around our gift restrictions by effectively supporting
candidates' lifestyles. If the public is to invest in a strong system
of campaign finance, they need to know that campaign money will be
appropriately spent.
So in addition to a cap on individual
contributions, lawmakers should embrace a ban on the use of campaign
funds for personal use. Lawmakers should also push for improved
disclosure and enforcement and public financing of elections.
Tags: Action for Elections, New York, In the States, public finance, clean elections, clean money (all tags)
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