Running for office in California is expensive, very expensive.
Depending on where you live, running a successful campaign for local office could cost between $50,000 and $350,000, and if you live in a large city be prepared to shovel out even more. You think that's big? These numbers don’t even touch the amount needed to run a big mayoral campaign, which can stretch into the millions, and don’t include the amount spent independently by outside groups every election.
Needless to say, California politics has a money problem.
This isn’t news to anyone, and we know the money problem has been exacerbated in the six years since Citizens United. Ideas for reform are plentiful, but unfortunately one of the most promising remains prohibited. Voter-funded campaigns are a method of funding campaigns that allow elected officials to remain independent representatives of the public, without the potential conflict of interest that inevitably occurs when candidates raise or benefit from substantial sums provided by those who seek to influence policy.
Voter-funded campaigns have the opportunity to limit the outsized influence upon our democracy by a privileged few, and simultaneously find ways to involve more members of the public to grow the influence of typical community members. Certain versions of voter-funded campaigns involve vouchers or matching funds, which incentivize candidates to reach out to everyday constituents and to spend less time courting deep-pocketed interests. Such initiatives can also allow candidates to rely on small donations and public funds to run a financially competitive campaign.
The current state constitutional ban on voter-funded campaigns prohibits most local municipalities from innovating with such programs to accomplish these goals. A few California charter cities have already successfully enacted these types of programs. These include Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Francisco. But, we need to make sure that other smaller, and often more rural, municipalities are allowed to choose whether they would like to enact voter- funded campaigns as well.
By allowing all cities and local governments to engage in campaign finance reform, innovative measures will be developed like those recently put in place in Seattle. California is often the innovation lab for policy adopted nationwide, but right now we’re behind the curve as numerous other cities and states around the country have already adopted citizen-funded campaigns of various types.
Luckily, we’ve already taken a big step forward. Both houses of the California legislature recently passed SB 1107 authored by Senator Ben Allen. SB 1107 does what California desperately needs: allowing all cities, counties, and the state itself to explore voter-funded campaign systems. The bill awaits Gov. Brown’s signature, which needs to happen before the September 30 deadline. Unfortunately, Gov. Brown has not yet expressed his support for this legislation.
We have the opportunity right now to achieve significant progress in making our elections more open, giving power back to the people, but we can't do it without you- tell Governor Brown to sign SB 1107. You can use this link to submit a comment to Governor Brown’s office. Better yet, give his office a call at 916-445- 2841!
This issue clearly has bipartisan support among the voters, and among our state legislators. If you believe we must reform the role of money in politics, please tell Governor Brown to join us in taking a big step forward to solve California’s money problem. Ask him to SIGN SB 1107!
Sandra Fluke is currently the California State Director for Voices For Progress, a non-profit policy advocacy organization.