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What
Does Brown Bear Want From City Council? A ban on washing
your car at home wouldn’t hurt...
The list of the top 20 contributors to last year's City Council
candidates is mostly made up of the usual suspects: real-estate
moguls, unions, and public-affairs consultants — political animals
not afraid to make their wishes known to, and who expect the ear
of, City Hall. But there's one guy on this list who doesn't fit...Brown
Bear Car Wash owner Vic Odermat.
Seattle Weekly 4/30/08
Independent
Groups plow millions into Iowa races Spurred
by a recent Supreme Court decision, independent political groups
are using their financial muscle and organiztional clout as never
before to influence the presidential race, pumping money and troops
into early nominating states on behalf of their favored candidates...
Seattle Times 1-1-08
Lawmakers
play favorites; local merchant loses out Doug Hoschek
sells the Army's elite Special Forces a T-shirt that resists burning
— a feature that can save the lives of soldiers under fire...
Another company, InSport International, snagged the T-shirt contracts
without having to compete.
InSport had lobbied members of Congress
for an "earmark" — federal dollars lawmakers direct to
favor-seekers, often campaign donors.
Seattle Times 12-18-07
More Letters
to the Editor
7-15-07
Voter-owned
elections deserve wide support (excerpt)
As a volunteer
with Washington Public Campaigns, I thank Hugh Geenen for his guest
column in support of publicly financed campaigns (P-I,
7-11)...
What
I still can't understand is why our Legislature stands in the way
of permitting local jurisdictions to have their own system of publicly
financed campaigns...If a city, county or public utility district
want to institute a system of publicly financed campaigns, they
should be permitted to. Perhaps our Legislature is afraid of this
populist notion even getting a toehold in the public's imagination.
Every year since 1992, legislation is written and introduced but
never even gets to a vote on the floor.
When 44 people show up to support Clean Elections at a single
hearing in Olympia this year but are not allowed to speak —
who are our representatives working for?...Ask your legislators
to repeal the ban on local publicly funded campaigns. Change the
status quo with public dough. ~
Marcee Stone, President of the Board, Washington Public Campaigns,
Seattle
Campaign
for candidates who vow to run 'clean'
(excerpt)
"As a community activist, I am grateful for Chris McGann's
research into lobbying dollars spent in Olympia (P-I,
July 2). "These are your unelected officials in a way,
because they are so influential ... in developing, passing or killing
bills," said the Center for Public Integrity.
We seem to be divided...those of us who realize that our democracy
is for sale to the highest bidder and are too discouraged to do
anything about it, and those who are so angry that they feel they
must do something about it. I'm in the latter camp.
This unwarranted
power means we won't have health care for everyone because health
care providers, insurers and Big Pharma are collectively the biggest
gorilla in Olympia..." ~
Sarajane Siegfriedt
Seattle P-I 7-11-07
"Marianne
Means' June
28 column, "If you're not rich or famous, don't bother
running for president," acknowledges the corrupting effect
of our current campaign financing system...But her conclusion that
public funding of campaigns is dead is entirely premature...
We can have this as soon as the public wakes up. And the increasingly
obscene funding of campaigns is just the wake-up call America needs..."
Read the whole letter by Ken Dammand
Seattle P-I 7-6-07
Opinion
Publicly
owned elections better for all by Hugh Geenen
"Elections currently are being paid for by one-quarter of 1
percent of eligible voters. The demographic of the current election-owning
class, that is, those giving $200 or more for their candidates,
is a white male of the business community. It strains credulity
to expect that this narrow demographic might represent interests
that cover the whole of U.S. society —
or of Seattle's..."
Seattle Post-Intelligencer 7-11-07
News
Lobbying
is big business in WA State Washington is sixth in U.S.
for spending by special interest groups to influence lawmakers.
Seattle P-I 7-02
Colby
Underwood and Me Crosscut gives us a glimpse of the
inside story of Seattle political fundraising. 5-16-07
UW
law professor examines judicial public financing
Professor of Law, William Anderson, discusses the need for fair
judicial elections in this Seattle Times
Op-Ed. 3-12-07
Who
should pay for campaigns?
Wa State Rep. Mark Miloscia says that public financing of all election
campaigns is the only way to put an end to legalized bribery in
a Tacoma News Tribune op-ed. 1-21-07
Edtorial:
dirty elections in WA State
Kate Riley discusses the huge amounts of money flowing to judicial
candidates.
Seattle Times 11-14-06
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Bills
Would Create Public Financing of Legislative Campaigns
By Kelly Wilson, Capital
News Service
ANNAPOLIS - In an attempt to limit the influence of money in state
politics, legislation before the Maryland General Assembly would
give candidates the option of running publicly financed campaigns.
Modeled after similar laws in Maine and Arizona, the Public Campaign
Financing Act is intended to limit the effect of lobbyists and wealthy
interests on candidates' campaigns.
The law would bring "ordinary people" who are not able
to donate large sums of money back into the political process, said
Nick Nyhart, president and CEO of the advocacy group Public Campaign.
Hometown
Annapolis 2-28-08
Five
Reasons for Public Financing
The
election year hasn't even begun, but the nation's political system
is already awash in record amounts of money, much of it spent to
buy influence.
In other times, this would have evoked outrage. But candidates have
grown so dependent on the money that all but a few stand mute —
afraid to push the obvious remedy, public financing of elections.
USA Today
12-10-07
Alan
Simpson keeps high profile "'...all
donors are "giving for one singular purpose: access.' Contributions
lead to all sorts of pork projects being put into the budget, he
said. 'Everyone was involved with it'"....
Jackson Hole Star Tribune
8-19-07
Public financing would mean cheaper elections "We
can either pay for election campaigns directly... or we will pay
for them indirectly, as we do...every time we all have to pick up
the tab for another favor our elected officials do for their biggest
campaign donors."
CommonDreams.org 8-26-07
My
View: Time to clean up elections
Opinion from New York, supporting public campaign funding.
Metro NY 8-15-07
Clearing
the Air
Editorial supporting public campaign proposals in New Jersey.
NJ.com (may contain advertising)
8-14-07
NC
lawmakers approve expanding public campaign financing
Lawmakers agreed to expand the state's voluntary public campaign
financing program to cover three more statewide races next year.
Charlotte Observer 8-2-07
Public
financing OK'd for Chapel Hill elections A bill passed
by the North Carolina state Senate 35-9. News
& Observer 7-20-07
ue
of Women Voters urges public campaigns for Portland city races
Democracy Reform Oregon 7-12-07
Full
Public Financing in the Age of the Roberts Supreme Court
How the June 25th ruling against campaign reform affects
the present state & local laws...good news. Public
Campaigns.org
Court
opens door for wealthy interest groups...Should corporations,
unions and others with deep pockets be able to spend millions to
influence elections, even though there's widespread agreement that
special-interest money is corrupting politics and government?
USA Today 6-25-07
Judge
comments on judicial public financing system
Judge Bryant discusses Washington's recent effort and examines
the North Carolina system.
Seattle P-I Op-Ed. 3-19-07
"Fair
elections now at the Federal Level" Democracy Matters,
information & opinion addressing college students. 3-07
New
York Gov. Spitzercalls for public financing of state elections
Governor Eliot Spitzer makes sweeping ethics proposals, including
public financing of state election campaigns. 1-3-07
Maine
Republican legislator evaluates their public financing system
Republican Op-Ed offers an opinion on Maine's
ground-breaking public election financing program. 9-19-06
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