John Buell writes in the Bangor Daily News about proposed changes to Maine's campaign finance laws, urging careful attention to preserving the Clean Elections public financing system that has made Maine a leader in innovation electoral policy. He discusses the news proposals to raise the number of qualifying contributions a candidates needs to receive Clean Elections funding and cautions against letting fear of "fringe" candidacies get in the way of creating a more inclusive election process. I like these last lines in particular: Waste on a frivolous candidate is a legitimate concern, but it must be weighed against the importance of an open process. The public loses much more than a million dollars if new regulations inhibit thoughtful dissent. In order to avoid an ugly Catch-22 in which disdain for politics fuels a parsimonious attitude toward public finance, it is imperative that we maintain a vigorous public finance system.