Tomorrow's State of the State will include a proposal for a strong campaign finance reform package, including public financing of elections. The New York Times has the scoop. While the article suggests several motives that may be driving Governor Paterson's surprising announcement, it's quite clear that enactment of public financing of elections is what this state needs, and the Governor's announcement needs to be taken by us - progressives - as a call to arms to finally get the kind of reform we've been fighting to win for years.
Last year, the Assembly passed a public financing of elections bill. The State Senate came very close to passing a very strong public financing bill. The bill was about to pass out of the elections committee when, that's right, the June 8th coup went down. Down also went public financing in the Senate for 2009.
Whatever his motives, with the Governor's announcement, and the Assembly's consistent passage of public financing, chances of the bill passing in 2010 lie with the State Senate.
Along with the Governor, the Senate and Assembly are up for election this year. There's nothing new in realizing that big corporate interests will garner more attention from our elected officials the voters. They are the ones, after-all, that supply our representatives with the money necessary to run a winning re-election campaign.
The distressing effects, then, are well known but can be summed up thusly: time spent on governing is drastically reduced. And good legislation gets ignored.
Last year, we released a report on how big money influences legislation in New York.
While the coup in the Senate was happening, our Executive Director, Karen Scharff said,
"New York State's government must take bold steps to begin to regain the public's trust, and demonstrate that money does not rule Albany. The only way to do that is for the Senate to get back to business and make public financing of elections the first item they take up and pass. Even before the scandals of last week, New Yorkers and consumers were bearing the burden of a campaign finance system strapped with corporate campaign cash. Prior approval of health insurance premiums, stricter environmental regulations and fairer rent laws are just a few examples of issues drowned in campaign cash. The Assembly has taken the first step, now the Senate must act."
And that statement holds true today.
The spotlight conviction of former Senator Bruno highlights how high corruption and back room dealings reach into the pockets of our leaders in Albany. Our elected representatives should only be beholden to us, the people.
Governor Paterson's position on campaign finance reform is a challenge not only to the ingrained corruption that mares our state government, but also to the residents of New York State. Last year's coup could have been avoided. The political shenanigans and games of gotchas have no place in statesmanship. Now, when we need strong financial reform, corporate influence needs to be diminished - for the sake of our society, our state, and our country.
So, let's get into the fight.