Good Op-Ed by an Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement board member on the need for public financing in Iowa.

When Kevin McCarthy, the Democratic Majority Leader in the Iowa House of Representatives, recently said that Voter Owned Iowa Clean Elections (VOICE) legislation was “flat-out bad,” the people of Iowa had something to say – “you’re flat-out wrong.” The citizens of Iowa have promptly responded to this unjust criticism, with op-eds and editorials popping up across the state in support of VOICE and public financing.

A survey of Iowans that donate to political candidates show a large majority favor public financing of elections.

Members of Iowans Citizens for Community Improvement gathered yesterday for a rally to put pressure on Governor Chet Culver to take action on a number of issues, including the Voter Owned Iowa Clean Elections Act (VOICE) that would give state candidates the opportunity to run for office with public financing.

Letters from two very different parts of the country over the weekend in support of full public financing of campaigns. After the jump, letters to the editor in the Des Moines Register and the New York Times about Clean Elections efforts going forward in the states.

Hugh Espey of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement writes to the Des Moines Register urging Iowa House Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. Jo Oldson to take action on two bills -- one on factory farms, and one, House File 805, to bring full public financing to Iowa's legislative elections.