A ceramic artist by training, Arizona Senator Meg Burton Cahill (D-AZ) has extended her crafting skills far beyond a college art studio to the hotbed of public-policy making in the Arizona state legislature. Her passion for community politics matured after she completed a Masters in Public Administration, and with the advent of the Clean Elections system in Arizona, she decided the time had finally come for her to run for office.   Now in her eighth year in the legislature, having served three terms in the House before beginning her first term in the Senate last year, Sen. Cahill still relentlessly pursues what she calls the "crafting of good sound public policy" while managing to keep her books clean of special interest money. She accredits the Clean Elections system for allowing her to achieve both without sacrificing one for the other.  "Clean Elections gives me the ability to use the tools I learned in university regarding crafting good sound public policy, and not to be influenced by a lobbyist who could... decide whether or not I come back." Like many elected officials, Cahill first ran for office when she became deeply dissatisfied with the representatives from her hometown of Tempe. "The representatives did not actually represent my community," even though "they were two very powerful legislators," she recalled. "One who was going to be the Speaker of the House; the other one became the Chair of Appropriations." Faced with formidable opposition, Cahill found comfort in knowing that the Clean Elections system would allow her to run a competitive campaign for office without having to rely on deep-pocketed donors. Under Arizona's Clean Elections program, candidates raise a set number of $5 contributions from district residents to qualify for a public grant to pay for their campaign. After qualifying, candidates must agree to strict spending limits and forgo all private fundraising. In an event that they are outspent by a privately funded opponent, they receive "fair fight funds" to continue to mount a competitive campaign.  "I think that publicly financed campaigns opens up the playing field and really drives in many more people who may be very well qualified to craft good sound public policy, but maybe not comfortable or well-versed at dialing for dollars." Reassured that she wouldn't have to "dial for dollars" and "beg" for money from special interest groups, the Senator focused on talking to voters and getting her message out--walking door-to-door and listening to the concerns of her constituents. Her hard work paid off when small donations started pouring in.  Perhaps the most encouraging moment came when the Senator realized her grassroots base of support crossed racial, ethnic, economic, and even party lines. "I found I had a lot of Republicans phoning me and asking if they could donate to my campaign. You have to realize for someone who, the media was saying who don't have a chance in the world, that was a very interesting experience for me, and it really fed my soul and told me this [running] might not be such a bad idea." Sen. Cahill has a relentless commitment to empowering voters who initially felt marginalized in the electoral process. "To me the most satisfying $5 forms I get are not from my kind of repeat constituents, but rather from new people who feel that they are for the first time able to have an equal voice in who gets elected because of the power of that $5."