Public Campaign - Tennessee

Fresh Eyes

Katie Schlieper — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:52:37 -0500

The decision on the Millionaire's Amendment by the Supreme Court seems to have stirred up a little fresh debate on the subject of campaign finance, and public financing of elections. From the editorial desk of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle to the letters page of The Tennessean people are wondering just how pervasive the influence of money on campaigns is, and whether full public financing of campaigns is the solution.

Putting it in the Platform

Katie Schlieper — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 13:32:24 -0500

This was an interesting thing to run across this morning: John Wolfe, who has declared his candidacy in a special election for a seat in the Tennessee Senate has given public financing of campaigns (with specific mention of Maine and Arizona) in his campaign platform. Given that the special election deals with a previous seat holder involved in a corruption investigation it certainly makes sense -- do you know if your state legislative candidates mention pubilc financing or campaign finance reform in their platforms?

Reform in Tennessee

Adam Smith — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 14:11:42 -0500

As is often the case, ethics reform legislation follows nasty bouts of corruption in the halls of Congress and in state houses. That's what happened in Tennessee where the legislature has passed ethics reform. The co-author of the ethics legislation is Rep. Frank Buck (D-Dowelltown). But the Jackson Sun and Rep. Buck don't think the ethics reform goes far enough. It's time to look at how campaigns are funded if we really want to change the system.