Two opposing candidates in North Carolina co-wrote a column this week extolling the virtues of the Clean Elections approach to elections – the removal of the taint of special interest money, the end of the constant burden of raising money, and the increase in time spent with the voters instead of big money donors.   Wayne Goodwin, the Democratic nominee for North Carolina Insurance Commissioner and John Odom, the Republican nominee for the position, co-wrote the piece for The Fayetteville Observer.  In North Carolina, the Voter-Owned Elections program is in place for the Supreme Court and the court of appeals, and for offices categorized as Council of State – commissioner of insurance, state auditor, and superintendent of public instruction.  Goodwin and Odom sum up the benefits of the system: "Every day we wake up without the burden of raising thousands of dollars from perfect strangers. Every day we know there’s no need to schmooze with powerful industry leaders and VIPs.  Every day we are relieved by the knowledge that we can spend the entire day listening to voters and serving the people of North Carolina.  Because of Voter-Owned Elections, we’ve been able to travel all across this state and hear people’s perspectives on everything from hurricane relief and auto insurance premiums to bail-bondsmen and grants for firefighters. ... So during this last month of the election — as pretty much every other office is inundated with campaign cash — you can be rest assured that at least in this race, we’re running the clean way.  No matter which one of us wins on Nov. 4, there need not be any concern about the debts owed to wealthy donors or lobbyists by the state’s top insurance regulator.  This year our campaigns have been accountable to only one owner — the public — which is the way it should be."  Thanks gentlemen, great column.