NC Voters for Clean Elections

 

Contacts: Josh Glasser, Common Cause NC;   (919)836-0027;  jglasser@commoncause.org

Chase Foster, NC Voters for Clean Elections;  (919)521-4121;  chase@ncvce.org

 

Local Campaign Finance Reform Bill Approved by State House

 

Candidates for mayor and city council could soon stop relying on special interest donations, if a bill approved by the state House yesterday is also given a nod by the state Senate.

 

In a close 60-56 vote Tuesday, the NC House voted to allow the state’s large municipalities the option of creating public campaign financing options for local elections.  If passed at the local level, candidates for mayor could run for office with only small donor and public support, refusing all money from special interest groups and wealthy donors.   But to receive the public grant candidates would first have to prove widespread community support by collecting hundreds of small donations and agree to strict spending and fundraising limits.  

 

Advocates say the system is needed to increase diversity in local government, reduce the harmful influence of moneyed special interest groups, and allow all qualified candidates to run for office.  

 

Public campaign financing already exists for statewide judicial races and some Council of State races in North Carolina.  The programs have largely been viewed as successful, with high, bipartisan participation, and dramatic decreases in the fundraising role of special interest groups.  If special interests stop being the primary source of money for candidates, advocates argue, then elected officials will make decisions about public policy in a way that is more beneficial to the public.   Further, they say, public campaign financing is an essential investment in democracy that is as important as ensuring the integrity of elections.

 

The enabling legislation approved Tuesday contained no mandates for individual cities to use the program and no appropriations. Only cities with more than 50,000 residents and who have nonpartisan elections can use the program.

 

Raleigh City Councilor Russ Stephenson spoke about what the bill could mean for his constituents.
“The cost of privately financed elections is creating a rising barrier to participation in democracy,” he said.  “This legislation allows local governments to experiment with reforms so that qualified candidates and incumbents can spend more time listening to voters, instead of fundraising to get over the money barrier.”

 

The bill, House Bill 120, was sponsored by Rep. Rick Glazier (D-Cumberland), Rep. Melanie Goodwin (D-Richmond), Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford), and Rep. Winkie Wilkins (D-Person). Twenty-seven other co-sponsors also signed on.

 

Outside the legislature, the measure has been pushed by Common Cause North Carolina, working in partnership with a host of good government groups, including the North Carolina Center for Voter Education, and Democracy North Carolina. The coalition is known as North Carolina Voters for Clean Elections.

 

The bill now heads to the North Carolina Senate for consideration in the coming months. A final vote is expected by the end of the legislative session.

 

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