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.
(Notably 22% Republican and 23% Democrat make up the total).
|
"Clean
money reform works! The 2002 elections clearly show increased
voter participation, increased voter turn out, and increased
competition among candidates.
It
also decreased the influence of big money interests. If
you compare 1998 elections, where 79% if all races were
won by the candidate who
spent the most money
with 2002, only 2% of races were affected by disparate
funding."
—Deb
Ross, field director for Public
Campaign
|
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.
With 3 election cycles under their belts, Maine and Arizona
have demonstrated that public funding encourages more competitive
races and more women and minority office holders. For the 2006
election in Maine, 80% of the candidates are running on public
financing.
And what do these impressive totals add up to? A shift in the
way "politics as usual" operates. In the states that
have passed public financing laws, people are working to implement
those laws and starting to reap the rewards.
"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 |
Recently, Maine's legislature was able to pass a bill enabling
citizens, except for the very wealthy, to purchase prescription
drugs on the Medicaid list for the Medicaid price, saving nearly
60% in costs. Maine's Senate Majority Leader Sharon Treat partially
attributes this success to the state's public campaign financing
law.
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.
