Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment
14622 Ventura Blvd. #424, Sherman Oaks, CA. 91403
February 17, 2010
www.valleyvote.org
Contact: Joe Vitti at javittisr@cs.com
The Valley VOTE Board of Directors has approved the following Motion:
Valley VOTE supports Proposition 15, the California Fair Elections Act, that will be on the June,8 2010 Ballot.
Discussion
Introduction
The California Fair Elections Act (CFEA) Proposition 15 will be on the June 8, 2010 Ballot. The CFEA calls for the statewide election of the Secretary of State in 2014 and 2018 to be publicly funded. This office was selected because the Secretary of State is responsible for regulating the integrity of state elections and the state lobbyists. The well-known axiom is that money buys access to the political process. The special interests in California lavish plenty of money on legislators and other political leaders at all levels of government. This has the effect of shutting out the voice of the rank and file voters. The CFEA assures voters the future Secretary of State will be focusing on the responsibilities of the office without special interest influence and not be concerned with raising campaign contributions for the next election.
This pilot project for public financing, also referred to as "Clean Money," is available to candidates running for Secretary of State. When passed and successfully implemented, it will be followed by a Clean money campaign for the State Insurance Commissioners. The final phase of the Clean money effort is to have public financing proposals that will eventually cover all state wide races.
Clean Money History
The outstanding success of full public financing programs in the states of Arizona, Maine, and Connecticut have demonstrated the outstanding viability of this publicly financed reform plan and all the benefits it provides to the voters. In each of these states approximately 80% of the elected legislators have been elected after embracing the Clean Money system. Democrats, Republicans, and independent candidates have successfully used the system. Former Governor of AZ. Janet Napolitano was elected as a Clean Money candidate and when in office she reduced the state budget by eliminating those items that had been included in the budget that were linked to special interest campaign contributions.
Senator John McCain had this to say about Clean Money. "For years, special interests and big money have had a negative effect on our local, state and national elections. Clean Elections changes that. In 1998 Arizonans voted for the Clean Elections Act and restored voter confidence in the electoral process. Clean elections works well to overcome the influence of special interests. It gives Arizonans the power to create good government"
In North Carolina the Insurance Commissioner was elected under that state’s Clean Money plan. The new commissioner, after studying the system, rolled back insurance rates to the rates of two years prior and forced the insurance companies to give back some $50 million in rebates to their customers. All this was possible because the new insurance commissioner was no longer beholden to the insurance companies in the state; instead, he was beholden only to the citizens who elected him to the office.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who signed the bill putting the CFEA on the ballot commented "Special Interests have a stranglehold on Sacramento. Here's how it works.... Money comes in.... Favors go out.... The people lose"
Former Assemblymember Keith Richman, endorser of the California Fair Elections Act, had this to say, "I am very concerned about the corrupting influence of money in politics and the fact to run for office and win, a candidate usually needs to be very wealthy or know wealthy donors. We need to get politicians out of the fundraising game so they can focus on the needs of the people and our state, instead of returning political favors to special interest campaign contributors"
Fair Election Act Rules for Candidates
There are two principal elements to qualify as a Fair Election "Clean Money" candidate .They are: (1) political contributions to a candidate are limited to not more than $5 per donor; (2) a candidate makes a pledge not to accept any larger sums from any contributor.
For the office of Secretary of State the “Clean Money” candidate must obtain at least 7,500 signatures with a donation of $5 from each. The candidate then qualifies for public financing, the amount of which is defined by the state and based on actual expenditures by candidates for that same office in previous elections. Once qualified, the “Clean Money”candidate is barred from raising money from corporations, labor unions, and political action committees, and is subject to stringent reporting requirements. This process, pledge, and public financing makes the candidate accountable only to the voters without any influence from the special interests.
Participating candidates must also follow strict reporting requirements and can only spend on legitimate campaign expenses. Violators would face fines, possible jail time, and prohibitions from running for office in the future. The California Fair Elections Act is funded primarily by registration fees on lobbyists, lobbying firms, and lobbyist employers, with no taxpayer dollars going to candidates. Currently lobbyists only pay $12.50 per year in California, among the lowest rates in the country.
The issue of so-called “independent expenditures” is one of the questions that is raised as a problem for Clean Money candidates. An “independent expenditure” is one that is made by an individual, corporations, labor union, PAC, or other organization that is not affiliated with the candidate and is made without the candidate's prior knowledge or permission. This potential problem for the Clean money candidate triggers another feature of financial support. If any opposing independent expenditures that names the “Clean Money” candidate, or any independent expenditures that supports the opponent of the “Clean" candidate by name, additional matching funds for will be provided to the "Clean Money” candidate. It should be noted that the threat of wealthy individuals and well funded entities using the "independent expenditures" campaign method to win elections has not been successful in stopping 80% of the Clean Money candidates that have won elections year after year in Arizona and Maine. The voters in these states understand and appreciate the advantages and benefits of electing Clean money candidates. They want their candidates and elected officials to get out of the fundraising game and get back to solving their state's problems
Valley VOTE Mission Statement
Valley VOTE, a diverse coalition of San Fernando Valley residents, business people, educators, community activists, and organizations, is committed to exploring and fostering the implementation of programs that empower the people of the San Fernando Valley and the City of Los Angeles, to improve local governance, education and public participation on policy matters.
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