In a recent study on campaign contributions in this year's race for governor, Common Cause New York found that less than a quarter of the campaign contributions to all candidates came from upstate New York, according to this article in the Star-Gazette. Uber pollster John Zogby says that could be a problem:
"It's obvious upstate New York is not what it once was," said Utica-based pollster John Zogby when asked about the relatively weak fundraising upstate. "This (imbalance in campaign donations) doesn't bode well for post-election lobbying."
Of course, all of the candidates claim that they won't be influenced by the origin of their campaign funds. But Common Cause's Rachel Leon found the concentration of donors problematic:
"Obviously there is more revenue and wealth downstate. It shows a desperate need for public financing. We want to encourage small donations" by matching them with public dollars, as New York City does now, she said.
Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group also supports a switch to public financing:
"Campaigns have to be paid for by somebody," he said. "Either by the wealthy and powerful or the average New Yorker... It's better if everyone has a financial stake in the system, rather than just the wealthy few."
Democratic candidates Eliot Spitzer and Thomas Suozzi support some kind of public financing of elections. Republican John Faso does not.
