Over the
next several weeks, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
will send regular updates to this list of Friends of Reform in New York State
on efforts to secure comprehensive campaign finance reform centered on public
financing of elections. These updates will be sent to good government
advocates, allies of the Fair Elections New York campaign, legislative and
opinion leaders, scholars and engaged students, reporters, and other advocates
for reform. They will also be posted on the Brennan Center’s New York blog
at ReformNY.blogspot.com.
Moreland Hearing: Current
Campaign Finance Enforcement Structures are Failing
Last night’s
Moreland Commission hearing focused on two main topics: the New York State
Board of Elections’ failure to effectively enforce state election
law and the success of public campaign financing systems in New York City and
Connecticut. The first topic – the weaknesses of BOE enforcement practices,
which were already well known – got most of the attention at the hearing and in
the press. The equally important second topic – how we start to address the
corrupting influence of big, special interest money in New York politics – was
almost entirely ignored.
As they grilled
BOE officials, the commissioners’ scathing questions revealed widespread
problems with the agency’s current practices. Those questionable policies
include refusal to investigate anonymous complaints, even those supported by
documentary evidence. Commissioners also questioned the notorious LLC loophole
that allows an individual or company to give many times the contribution limit
through the use of shell companies. In a distressing example of the BOE’s
impotence, the commissioners learned about one investigator, who after failing
to receive work from his supervisors despite repeated requests for more to do,
resorted to playing solitaire on his computer – as a
backlog of hundreds of complaints awaited action.
Advocates of
reform anticipated the hearing would examine not just bureaucratic incompetence
or illegal activity, but also promising solutions to New York’s glaring
campaign finance problems. Witnesses presented testimony in person and in
writing about the highly successful enforcement systems in New York City and
Connecticut, both of which include public campaign financing, which could serve
as a model for New York State.
Connecticut
Deputy Secretary of State James Spallone said “campaign finance reform has changed the culture in the
Capitol.” Public financing, he said, “is becoming part of our
political fabric and a model for the nation.” His written testimony further
explained that the system has reduced the influence of special interest lobbyists.
New York
City Campaign Finance Board Executive Director Amy Loprest submitted testimony discussing the ways that public
financing improves enforcement. Candidates cannot take public funds unless the
CFB’s audits and investigations establish that they are in compliance with the
election laws. She wrote, “Candidates in New York City know that their campaign
will be held to strict standards – and that their opponent’s campaign will be
held to the same standards.”
Campaign
Finance Institute Executive Director Michael J. Malbin, a nationally recognized campaign finance
expert, submitted testimony detailing the financial aspects of a
public funding system. Public funding would cost each New Yorker $2.12 per year
and could save the state millions currently spent on special interest
provisions large campaign donors currently secure for themselves. Professor
Malbin highlighted the urgency: candidates need an alternative to being
overwhelmed by large outside spending that threatens to become the new normal. Public funding “should be included in the Governor’s
executive budget in January 2014.”
Latest News
The New York
Times’ Michael Powell reveals shocking examples of big campaign donors’
ability to buy legislative influence – and the corruption is completely legal.
A tobacco wholesaler gave large contributions to legislators working on a bill
that would increase his profits; meanwhile New York State ignores a reform that
would increase tobacco tax collections enough to pay for public financing many
times over.
Karen Dewitt of
New York State Public Radio reports on new Common Cause research raising
suspicions of legal corruption. Common Cause hopes the Moreland Commission will
investigate whether “there’s a link between the $5 million dollars spent
by major pharmaceutical companies on lobbying and campaign donations to New
York State politicians, and the failure to pass major consumer friendly
bills regulating Big Pharma.”
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