ANNAPOLIS, MD, - Public Campaign, a national non-profit organization committed to passing Clean Elections campaign reform, called on the State Senate to do the will of the people instead of bend to the will of Senate President Mike Miller. Miller is the most prolific special interest fundraiser in Annapolis, and has threatened to hold up passage of the Public Campaign Financing Act, SB 546. Since 1998, Sen. Miller has stuffed his campaign war chests with more than $2.1 million dollars coming from a variety of special interests.

"Senator Miller is trying to preserve a system in which his ability to raise money and give it to other Senators is more important than the voices of ordinary voters," said Nick Nyhart, president and CEO of Public Campaign. "Honorable public servants in the Senate must take a stand and free themselves from Sen. Miller's campaign cash that he's been dolling out for twenty something years."

"With the recent revelations about Sen. Thomas Bromwell's wire tap confessions of selling off of policies to the highest bidder, the call for comprehensive campaign reform is a no brainer. It's time for lawmakers to stop the backroom deals and parliamentary maneuvers. It's time the State Senate get behind a bill that a poll conducted by Gonzalez research showed that 73% of the Maryland voting public knows will end politics as usual in Annapolis."

The Public Campaign Financing Act, sponsored by Sen. Paul Pinsky (D-22) and Del. Jon Cardin (D-11), has earned a vote on the Senate floor. Based on successful public financing systems in Maine and Arizona popularly known as "Clean Elections," the bill would allow candidates to run for office with public funds if they qualify by collecting a set number of low dollar contributions. Once qualified, candidates must adhere to strict spending limits and can no longer accept any private contributions. Under this system, elected officials are only accountable to voters, and not large campaign contributors, including Senate President Miller.

This past November, more than 200 officials were elected under publicly financed elections systems in Arizona, Maine, and North Carolina. Similar laws are also in place for all or some offices in Connecticut, New Jersey, New Mexico, Vermont, Albuquerque, NM, and Portland, OR and a number of other states are considering similar legislation.

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