June 12th, 2009 Campaign Finance Reform: Too Long in the Wilderness
 Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli |
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By State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli
What does $55,900 buy? It’s a question that gets asked every election cycle in New York State. Candidates for statewide office – Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General and State Comptroller – can accept up to $37,800 per individual contributor for the general election and up to $18,100 for a primary. Those limits aren’t just obscene, they’re absurd.
What does $55,900 buy? It buys public distrust. The median household income in New York State is $53,448. How can New Yorkers believe in a system that lets candidates accept contributions larger than the average families’ household income?
When I took office in February 2007, I voluntarily refrained from accepting campaign contributions for 15 months. After the abuse and misconduct of the Hevesi-administration, I wanted to focus on restoring public trust and confidence in the Office in the State Comptroller. When I did begin accepting contributions, I self-imposed limits on contributions to my campaign to less than half the legal limits, and I’ve also encouraged the Securities and Exchange Commission to, on a national level, prohibit investment firms from contributing to elected officials responsible for oversight of public pension funds.
But campaign finance reform goes beyond what I can do voluntarily in my comptroller campaign. Government is big business in New York. Every year, the state enters into tens of thousands of contracts worth tens of billions of dollars. Those contracts must be approved by the Governor’s agencies, the Attorney General and the State Comptroller. Legislation appropriating billions of dollars is passed by the Legislature and signed into law. All those transactions must be beyond reproach. There should not even be an appearance of undue influence or conflict of interest.
New York needs campaign reform at every level, and the best reform is public funding of campaigns. New York has spent too long in the wilderness of virtually unlimited campaign contributions; it’s time for every elected official to step up and publicly support real campaign finance reform.
In New York State, money means votes. It’s time to change that equation. Public funding of campaigns would eliminate even the appearance of undue influence from campaign contributions.
This won’t come cheap or easy. Campaigns in New York State are expensive, and there will be opposition. But New Yorkers have become disillusioned by scandal and corruption. Their faith in their state government has been seriously shaken. We cannot and should not put a price tag on restoring public trust.
And at the end of the day, New Yorkers would get real value for their public campaign dollars. Elected officials would make better decisions and govern more effectively without the interference or undue influence of large campaign contributions. These are tough economic times; every dime counts. We can't afford to waste money on projects that keep campaign donors happy but don’t serve the public interest.
Assembly Speaker Silver has a long history of support and the Assembly passed a strong public campaign finance bill last year. Senate Majority Leader Smith also has a strong track record; he sponsored public financing legislation when he was in the minority and he has committed to legislation this year. Governor Paterson was an advocate for public financing during his time in the Legislature. The timing has never been better.
We don't have to build the whole house at once. Let's start with the foundation. Before the end of this session, both houses of the legislature should enact legislation to phase in public campaign financing for all legislative and statewide races. The 2010 Comptroller's should come first, followed by the 2012 legislative elections and the full slate of statewide races in 2014. I've already voluntarily limited contributions to my 2010 Comptroller campaign; public financing is the next logical step for me. Candidates for other statewide offices wouldn't have to re-align their fund raising strategies until 2014; they'd have four years to end their reliance on the huge campaign donations allowable under current New York State law.
As long as New York State’s campaign laws leave a hole big enough to drive a Brinks truck through, New Yorkers will believe that campaign cash has too much influence on what goes on in Albany.
Let’s give New York government back to New Yorkers. Public campaign financing will do just that. |
