Public Campaign - municipal public financing

Next Step for Chapel Hill

Katie Schlieper — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 22:17:06 +0000

Chapel Hill, North Carolina may have a public financing program for municipal elections if the town council signs off on it. The state Assembly has already approved the program. Supporters hope that a public financing option will even out the playing field for challengers to compete against established incumbents.

Not Yet in Santa Monica

Katie Schlieper — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 21:00:24 +0000

Well, it doesn't look like candidates for city council in Santa Monica, California will have the option to run in a Clean Elections-style system in the near future. An effort by councilman Kevin McKeown to initiate a study on the possibility of adopting such a program was defeated by a vote of the council last night. Perhaps the rumblings about trying to win a public financing program for Los Angeles municipal races will fuel efforts down the road in Santa Monica.

Albuquerque's First Run

Katie Schlieper — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 19:06:35 +0000

This year Albuquerque, New Mexico will see its first run of city council races where a full public financing option is available and from this report on the candidates who have qualified for public financing it seems there's enthusiasm to participate, especially in the 6th district!

New Style in New Haven

Katie Schlieper — Thu, 10 May 2007 18:40:46 +0000

New Haven's Mayor, John DeStefano Jr. reflects in this article on the changes he's making in his campaign style as part of his first participation in the public financing program now available in Connecticut. First up: a campaign kick-off in a local park, with staffers grilling up hotdogs for local supporters.

Portland's Public Financing a Success

Katie Schlieper — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 14:54:38 +0000

Courtesy of Willamette Week: a citizens commission has given Portland's first cycle of public financing for municipal elections a thumbs up, concluding that even with a few glitches, "public financing helped to reduce the influence of big money in Portland politics, increased the effectiveness of first-time new candidates such as Amanda Fritz and helped candidates spend more time talking to voters instead of shaking them down for campaign cash."

Madison Committee to Study Public Financing

Katie Schlieper — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 15:12:54 +0000

Madison, Wisconsin City Council President Austin King's proposal to provide Clean Elections-style full public financing of municipal races is moving forward. Last night the Council voted to form a committee to study the possiblity of implementing such a system. King, who does not plan to seek re-election, explained his motivation for championing the proposal: “I do want to make sure that … whoever succeeds me on the council is representing the interests of that district, the 8th district, rather than the interests of campaign donors.”

Changes to Portland's Law

Katie Schlieper — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 14:19:46 +0000

In an effort to ward off the potential for fraud in Portland, Oregon's municipal public financing system, some changes to the law have been proposed. These changes include allowing qualifying contributions to come only from registered voters, and giving candidates more time to collect these contributions.

Santa Monica Takes Up Public Financing

Katie Schlieper — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 21:23:58 +0000

Keenly aware of the high cost of campaigning, City Council members in Santa Monica, California are set to debate a public financing initiative for municipal races tonight. Though some members remain concerned about the cost of such a system, all are concerned about the potential for independent expenditure groups to circumvent campaign contribution limits use their financial clout to influence elections.

Clean Cities

Katie Schlieper — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 17:15:00 +0000

Two cities in California are seeing Clean Elections activity. Sunnyvale City Council member Melinda Hamilton is pushing a proposal to make her city the first in the state to have public financing of elections, and is suggesting referring the question to voters on the November ballot. Meanwhile, Pasadena will play host next week to the Clean Money - Clean Cities conference on municipal public financing systems sponsored by the League of Women Voters of California.

Madison Alderman Proposes Clean Elections

Katie Schlieper — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 15:48:14 +0000

Madison, Wisconsin Alderman Austin King has proposed adopting a Clean Elections public financing system for the city's elections, hoping it will create more contested races and discourage corruption. Though he does not plan to seek re-election and therefore would not use the program, he plans to introduce his Clean Elections resolution at this evening's City Council meeting.