We
need full public financing of election campaigns
so that candidates who represent the people can afford to run,
and so that once in office, elected representatives are not obligated
to special interests and their lobbyists, for fear of losing campaign
contributions. This won't solve all of our problems, but it will
go a long way to breaking the link between big donors and public
officials and to restoring a government "of, by, and for
the people."
This
work is not just a pipe dream.
The states of Maine and Arizona have
led the way, adopting public financing of election campaigns
through citizen initiatives. Each year in those states, more candidates
choose to run with what is called Clean Money, Clean Elections,
or Clean Campaigns. The result has been higher voter turnout,
wider discussion of important issues, and new laws that benefit
the majority of citizens.
Washington
Public Campaigns seeks public financing of all election campaigns
in Washington. We want to launch a statewide conversation about
how we might reclaim our democracy — and our voice — by limiting
the influence of money in lawmaking.
We
can do it! But grassroots support is essential.
We
also want the legislature to remove language in state law that prohibits
cities
and other
local jurisdictions from using public funds for local election campaigns.
Some local jurisdictions today would experiment with their own public
financing programs, if only state law were changed to allow it.
In the past,
Seattle used public financing for city council races. But in 1992,
voters approved Initiative 134 — touted as "campaign
financing reform," but which contained fine print that outlawed
using public funds in any way for state and local campaigns. We
would reverse that.
The Road Ahead for
Clean Campaigns
Although Clean Campaigns bills were not approved in the 2007 Washington
state legislative session, we have not been defeated! By proposing
and lobbying for Clean Campaigns bills this year, we set the stage
for enactment in the future. We created discussion in the legislature,
in the media and among the public.
Clean Campaigns is capturing public
attention and support in Washington. Membership in WPC is growing
and we have more coalition allies.
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citizens
have lost
their influence
over lawmaking and public
policy,
because candidates must raise huge
sums to run for office, and because our elected representatives
— often concerned about financing their next campaign —
tend to follow the bidding of big donors rather than the true interests
of voters in their district. The result is public policies that
often fail to meet the needs and desires of most Americans.