New Jersey's Home News Tribune cautions residents against dismissing the Clean Elections pilot program that enjoyed high participation in 2007 because of the cost associated with it, arguing that its value as a tool to control spending and level the playing field among candidates is worth paying for.

The competitive nature of several of the races included in the three-district pilot program made for expenditures that have raised a few eyebrows, but adjustments will be made in response to this most recent cycle to respond to concerns while still preserving and hopefully expanding the system. The Tribune reminds us of the perils of going back to business as usual:

If New Jersey should all of a sudden decide that Clean Elections is no longer worth the expense or the effort — and both may be considerable — the only alternative would seem to be a return to the ways of the past, meaning elections funded in large part by special interests with political favors as payback in mind.

It's safe to say that most New Jerseyans prefer the opposite course. And if that means putting the public's coin where its mouth is, so be it. The price for more open and inclusive elections free of the corrupting influence of special interests is worth it.