When candidates for public office must amass “war chests” of money to be considered “viable,” you are going to get news stories like the one out of Harrisburg this week.
When candidates for public office must amass “war chests” of money to be considered “viable,” you are going to get news stories like the one out of Harrisburg this week.
Make no mistake about it -- Rob McCord used his power as Pennsylvania’s treasurer to pressure business and legal executives into forking over large campaign contributions during the intense gubernatorial battle of 2012.
Let that sink in: Our public “watchdog” threatened to bite if the campaign dough did not flow like the Marcellus Shale.
According to a “joint statement of facts” released Monday and reported by several news outlets, McCord targeted a Philadelphia law firm and a property management company in Western Pennsylvania for $25,000 and $100,000, respectively. The 55-year-old Bryn Mawr resident coached an attorney at that law firm into “browbeating” his partners for a large donation.
“And that’s fine, but you also run a law firm, so if you are not going to hedge your bet, don’t think that I am so stupid that I am not going to read you the riot act down the road. You know what I mean?” McCord is recorded as saying.
McCord, who said he would plead guilty to two counts of extortion, leaves office as the latest Keystone official to breach public trust. The maximum penalty for each extortion count is 20 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.
Pennsylvania, as many know, does not have a system of public financing for campaigns. While there is no panacea for public corruption, forcing people to solicit large donations from individuals and corporate PACs is not what I would call a character-building exercise. It instead cultivates dependencies and unholy alliances that place special interests ahead of the public interest.
In the 2012 election cycle, $12.5 million was spent for every member of Congress, according to author and law professor Zephyr Teachout. Once someone wins office, the money treadmill does not end. Since the 1990s, federal officials have spent between 30 and 70 percent of their time every week raising money, Teachout stated.
I strongly believe we need to ease the pressure to raise insane amounts of money to run for office. Public financing systems are in place in a number of states. How do they work? While systems vary, candidates generally must raise a certain number of small donations (between $5 and $100) on their own to become eligible for a state-funded grant. For example, to run for state representative in Connecticut, candidates must raise $5,000 from at least 150 residents.
The idea is to level the playing field a bit so that campaigns actually come down to ideas and character. How novel an idea that seems in 2015?
Mike D. Hays, the author, is a resident of Ardmore and a freelance journalist. He served a four-year term as a councilman in Spring City, Pa., and ran for state representative in the 26th District in 2012.