A group of Clean Elections supporters in Greensboro, North Carolina are organizing to bring full public financing of elections to their city, following in the path of Albuquerque, New Mexico and Portland, Oregon, as well as public financing programs for North Carolina's judicial races and three Council of State races, as well as a new program in the works for Chapel Hill. As the cost of running for office escalates, there is concern that running for office is becoming prohibitively expensive for would-be candidates.

Greensboro is taking their lead from this year's successful effort to give Chapel Hill a chance at public financing:

To demonstrate they are legitimate candidates, people who wish to participate in the program must first raise small amounts of money — say $5 to $20 — from perhaps 75 people, Kleinschmidt said.


"If you can't convince people to give you small contributions, perhaps you shouldn't be running," Kleinschmidt said.


If candidates meet the threshold, then they will qualify for public financing, which would set a cap on spending. That cap would be determined by the local government, based on an average of what it costs to run for office.


Kleinschmidt said that might be about $6,000 in Chapel Hill.


No candidate would be required to participate, although Tworog said the programs have been popular.


Local advocates would like to see the same kind of program in Greensboro.


If everyone has the same amount of money, "then the only way to separate two candidates is by their message," Wilson said.