Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts has been making the case for clean-elections reform (which the Assembly, in its infinite wisdom, tabled on second reading today) and I think we all need to listen.
Clean Elections are investments in democracy. By providing public financing to candidates, special-interest money is taken out of the political process so legislators will not feel beholden to large contributors and their agendas.
Under Clean Elections, qualified candidates who agree to forgo large private contributions and follow strict spending limits receive public financing for their campaigns. This frees candidates from having to chase campaign donations from big-money special interests and lobbyists. It enables candidates ample opportunity to
conduct their campaigns with the interest of their constituents as their top priority.
The legislation, unfortunately, is just a Band-Aid. It’s not nearly comprehensive enough, as The Asbury Park Press, has pointed out — though the Shore-area paper is wrong to call for it’s defeat.
Allowing the flawed program to die off would not lead to a better, fuller experiment in two years, but would signal the end of the experiment, leaving the current system of legalized bribery in place for the foreseeable future. And while pay-to-play bans and other ethics reforms will undoubtedly help some, they only restrict and redirect the flow of money; candidates would still be beholden to the private interests who pay for their campaigns.
The Legislature needs to approve A-100 and then move immediately to improve it — if not for the 2007 election cycle, then for 2009.
To do anything less would be irresponsible.
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Hank Kalet 