The op-ed in The Mercury News by Susan Lerner and Ted Williams of the California Clean Money Campaign explores the recent spate of negative advertising in the California governor race to talk about the vicious cycle of traditional campaign financing and the Clean Money alternative.

California has seen a lot of activity in recent months around public financing measures. A Clean Money bill, AB 583, spearheaded by Assemblymember Loni Hancock passed the California Assembly earlier this year, but has run into difficulties in the state Senate - a vote in the Senate Elections Committee is now slated for later in June. Meanwhile, the California Nurses Association have submitted signatures to put a clean money proposition on the November ballot.