Cincinnati City Council has so far balked at asking
voters to approve campaign-finance reform, including public
funding of city council campaigns.
Citizens for Fair Elections, a coalition of 14 groups, last
week asked council to place on the ballot a charter amendment
that would require more details about campaign spending and
would offer public funds to candidates who agree to limit
their spending.
Supporters collected 11,700 signatures on petitions to put
the issue on the ballot. Council must pass a resolution before
the measure gets there.
Lauren Coletta, director of field operations and grassroots
efforts for Common Cause, joined Citizens for Fair Elections
in presenting the petitions to city council Aug. 2.
"This issue is not going away," Coletta says. "Cincinnati
is not alone."
Instead of restricting how much candidates can spend --
ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court -- the Fair
Elections Coalition proposes setting voluntary limits for
candidates and rewarding participants with public funds. The
proposal offers $2 in public funds for every $1 raised by a
campaign, with a maximum of about $100,000 for council
candidates and about $200,000 for mayoral candidates.
The proposal would limit individual donors to contributions
of $1,000 each, and political parties could only give a
donation of $10,000 to a candidate.
The amendment would also create the five-member Cincinnati
Elections Commission (CEC), with subpoena power to monitor
campaigns and to fine any violators. The commission would
consist of a member of each of the three local political
parties and two citizens who are independents. Members could
not be currently active in politics or the municipal
government.
New York and San Francisco have already enacted a form of
the Fair Elections Amendment. States such as Massachusetts and
Arizona are considering campaign finance reform, according to
Coletta.
"People need to connect the dots," Coletta says. "Learn how
this issue affects our lives."
Seemingly unrelated bills such as cable-television could be
higher, because companies need money to donate to candidates,
she said.
Council postponed putting the amendment on the ballot,
waiting until Sept. 5 to decide. The deadline for issues in
the fall election is Sept. 7.
David Crowley, a Democrat, urged council to act.
"Support the amendment," Crowley said. "It levels the
playing field. It allows a no one to have a chance."
The charter amendment would require candidates to report,
within five days, any contribution of $500 or more received
within 20 days of the election. The same would apply to
expenditures of $1,000 or more. ©
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