TITLE
Recommendation to refer discussion and recommendation relative to the City Council endorsing Proposition 89 to the City Council State Legislation Committee for report back not later than October 24, 2006; and request City Attorney work in conjunction with the State Legislation Committee to provide input and recommendations concerning a resolution in support of Proposition 89.
DISCUSSION
The amount of money needed in order to run for public office and to compete against privately funded interest groups and PACs has grown phenomenally in politics at the local, state, and national levels in the past several years.
The current privately funded system hinders the average citizen lacking great wealth from participating effectively in the political arena, thus undermining the democratic process.
Public funding of political campaigns will both improve voters' access to their elected officials and free elected officials from spending inordinate amounts of their time fundraising.
The California Nurses Association has qualified a ballot initiative -- Proposition 89 The California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act which would establish a voluntary public financing system for statewide. and legislative political campaigns. It is patterned after the successful Clean Money systems now working in Arizona and Maine, adapted for California's unique electoral circumstances. It also restricts private contributions to candidates and committees and limits corporate contributions to ballot measures.
Clean Money candidates who agree to reject private fund raising and only spend the amount they receive would have their campaigns fully funded with public money. They must also participate in at least one primary debate and two general election debates. Candidates qualify for public financing by displaying a broad base of public support by gathering a specific number of signatures and $5 contributions. They are then designated on the ballot and in the ballot pamphlet as "a par...
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