The Trenton Times talks with the New Jersey Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts about his support for Clean Elections, and his efforts to continue the state's pilot program and continue and expand it in coming cycles.Roberts is eager to build on the Clean Elections successes this year by expanding the program to include primaries, and to lower the barrier to entry for third parties.Here are some excerpts from the interview:Roberts said the improvements made to Clean Elections since the first pilot program in 2005, which flopped, led to better results this time."Lowering the financial threshold for participation, and making it easier for Democrats, Republicans and third-party candidates to qualify, was a big step forward," he said. "We had 16 of 20 eligible candidates participate. It validated the faith I've had in the program from the very beginning." [. . .]"We talk about all sorts of campaign-finance reforms, whether they be pay-to-play or others, and Clean Elections has the ability to address every element," Roberts said. "It doesn't just remove the influence of some of the money, it removes the influence of all of the money."Let's hope the efforts of Roberts and his compatriots in the New Jersey legislature will continue to develop the Clean Elections programs and offer it to more districts in the next round of elections.