Lawrence may — just may — take a rather historic leap into public financing of local elections.
The proposal, which has been kicking around for about two years, now has the support of a sharply divide local panel charged with studying public financing.
The panel found that
7,000 of the township’s 19,000 registered voters belong to the Democratic or Republican parties. The nominees for the Township Council are chosen from the ranks of registered Democrats and Republicans, generally without primary election challenges.
“It would be desirable to broaden the choice of nominees, but without party support, the raising of campaign funds is difficult,” the report said. “If public funds were available, it might broaden interest in running for office, and the candidates would not be beholden to a political party or private donors.”
An analysis of the 2007 Township Council election revealed the six candidates spent $56,425, which amounts to $1.47 per household per year, the report said. There are 12,554 properties in Lawrence that are assessed for tax purposes.
“This is certainly within reason and without significant effect on the township budget, even in these recessionary times,” the report said. “It may be beneficial when political contributors no longer have to buy ‘no-bid’ contracts with their contributions. Competitive bidding may well save more than public financing of the election costs.”
The report also found that the four states with so-called clean elections laws, “the majority of candidates participated.”
“We conclude that public funding has shown itself to be feasible and beneficial in other places. It is affordable in the township, and the voters should be given the opportunity to act on it,” the report concluded.
Will they? Hard to say. The eight-member committee was split on the issue and it is now up to the Township Council. I’m hoping they endorse the idea and let Lawrence lead the way on reform.
Hank Kalet 