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Emails for public financing needed in the next couple of days
by Rob Arnow, Voter Owned Elections 25 Feb '12

25 Feb '12

Dear friends, It is urgent that you email Supervisor Scott Wiener (scott.wiener(a)sfgov.org) right away to save our public financing program, which will be voted on by the Board of Supervisors NEXT TUESDAY, February 28. Just like the local one-percenters have been attacking Ranked Choice Voting, they also have been attacking Public Financing of campaigns. They are doing everything they can to undermine our local democracy in their desire to manipulate and win elections, and the next showdown has arrived. Here is the background: Next Tuesday the full Board of Supervisors will vote on proposals from the Ethics Commission designed to save public financing. The Ethics Commission's proposals deserve our support. They have been cosponsored by Supervisors Kim, Campos, Avalos and Mar. Supervisor Scott Wiener from District 8 is the key swing vote. If he votes in favor, the measure will pass. If he votes against, it most likely will fail. It is urgent that you contact Supervisor Wiener (as well as Board President David Chiu) and indicate your support. The e-mail address for any Supervisor isfirstname.lastname(a)sfgov.org. Sup Wiener is known to read his own e-mail, and sometimes even respond. Please e-mail them right away. Below is a sample letter that you can use for your own e-mails. It also tells you more specifics about what the package of changes will do, but the short version is that it will: 1) provide more public financing for qualified candidates, 2) deal with the "zombie candidate" issue that emerged in the mayor's race, and 3) bring San Francisco in compliance with a (yet another) terrible Supreme Court ruling that is undermining public financing across the nation (and that threatens to get rid of SF's program if it is sued, since we are out of compliance). But these Ethics Commission proposals actually turn the lemons into lemonade by using the Supreme Court ruling as a reason to strengthen the public financing program. Below is the sample letter to Supervisor Wiener. Please e-mail him right away and let him know that you believe that the public financing program in San Francisco is worth saving. Steven Hill San Franciscans for Voter Owned Elections --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Supervisor Wiener, The Ethics Commission’s proposed changes to our current public financing program will do many good things to improve San Francisco elections, and I urge you to support them. This package of changes is coming from the San Francisco Ethics Commission, which studied this issue in great detail in order to both improve the current public financing program as well as to bring San Francisco into compliance with a recent Supreme Court ruling. In other words, this package is not coming from any partisan group or special interest with a vested interest in the outcome of elections, it is coming from the nonpartisan Ethics Commission. Here is a summary of the good things that the Ethics Commission proposal would do: 1) It will bring San Francisco in compliance with the recent US Supreme Court ruling that outlawed the use of a "trigger" that allowed publicly financed candidates to receive more public funds when a privately financed candidate broke the spending cap. 2) It will make sure that publicly financed candidates remain competitive against privately financed candidates and independent expenditure committees, despite the loss of this "trigger." It does that by increasing the spending caps for publicly financed candidates, from the current $143,000 to $250,000 for the Board of Supervisors and from $1.475 million to $1.75 million for the mayor's race, to compensate for the loss of the "trigger" that previously allowed publicly financed candidates to receive more money when privately financed candidates or independent expenditures broke the spending cap. It also increases the amount of public funds available to qualified candidates, allowing them to reach that spending cap. 3) It will help deal with the "zombie candidate" issue that emerged in the 2011 mayoral election. Currently, candidates can start spending their public financing in February before a November election, and the candidate filing deadline isn't until mid-August. That led to situations in which publicly financed candidates who wanted to get out of the race when other big-name candidates jumped into the race late in August would have had to pay back the public money they had spent. As a result, these "zombie" candidates stayed in the race, even though they had no chance of winning. So here's the solution coming from the Ethics Commission: change the date that candidates can receive public money from February to mid-June, and change the candidate filing deadline from mid-August also to mid-June, a few days before the public money deadline. By doing this, all candidates will know which candidates are in the race before they spend any public money for their campaigns. If a "big name" candidate jumps into the race at the last second, no public money will have been spent at that point, and minor candidates will still have the chance of dropping out of the race before spending any public money. The Budget Analyst has determined that these changes to the public financing program will not cost any additional money beyond what the the current program costs. This reflects that the Ethics Commission has taken time to craft a proposal that is both respectful of the use of public money, making sure public money is not wasted, yet that it fulfills the goals of the Campaign Finance Reform Ordinance which is to ensure robust debates by providing sufficient resources to credible, qualified candidates to run viable campaigns. I think the Ethics Commission proposal will do a lot to improve San Francisco elections, and I am hoping you will support it. Can you let me know what your position is on the Ethics Commission proposal? Will you support it when the Board of Supervisors votes next Tuesday? Thank you. Sincerely,

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URGENT: Tues., March 29, Board of Supes vote on public financing for mayor's race
by Rob Arnow, Voter Owned Elections 25 Mar '11

25 Mar '11

Public financing supporters ~ We need phone calls and e-mails RIGHT AWAY to ensure a sufficient amount of funds for public financing in the November 2011 mayoral race. The full Board of Supervisors will be voting on public financing for the mayor's race THIS TUESDAY. The good news is that public financing IS being used for the mayoral race, and about $500,000 has already been given out to candidates! But since Ethics Commission current projections show the fund will run short sometime during the summer, there's a bill that will be voted on by the Board of Supervisors to add $1.3 million to the fund THIS Tuesday -- and it's important that you all weigh in to the Supervisors with your support. We are targeting specific supervisors: 1) Supervisor David Chiu has been a supporter of public financing and voted for this bill in committee, but he is receiving pressure to abstain from this vote. In order to strengthen his support, we'd like to generate some emails and phone calls to his office. 2) Malia Cohen also has been a supporter of public financing, both using it and even hosting a public financing forum. But she also is receiving pressure from the opposition, so we want to strengthen her support. Can you contact these Supervisors immediately? David Chiu (415) 554-7450 David.Chiu(a)sfgov.org Malia Cohen (415) 554-7670 Malia.Cohen(a)sfgov.org Here is the message to send them: "Thank you for your past support for public campaign financing in San Francisco. I'm hoping you will continue that support by voting for the current bill to restore $1.3 million in funds to the program, in order to ensure that there are adequate funds for this year's mayoral campaign. Public financing is a fundamental underpinning of a healthy democracy. It ensures a robust debate, in which voters' decisions are made based on the merits and ideas of candidates, rather than their access to wealthy special interests. Thank you for your leadership on this issue." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Unfortunately, Scott Weiner, who has spoken in favor of public financing in the past, voted against this bill in budget committee. Carmen Chu has also continued her opposition to public financing. Opponents of this bill have said that we can restore the funding if and when it's needed, but it's already clear the money will run out sometime during the summer. Additionally, public financing funds should not be subjected to votes by Supervisors in the middle of a mayoral campaign, in which they and their friends are running. The closer to the election, the greater the conflict of interest. This is why we have always pushed for funding to be provided far in advance of campaigns. And why we hope to see the funding given as a set-aside in the future. Thanks, Rob Arnow San Franciscans for Voter Owned Elections

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Fair Elections Now Act passes U.S. House committee!
by Rob Arnow, Voter Owned Elections 01 Oct '10

01 Oct '10

Fighters for a real democracy ~ Last week, the Fair Elections Now Act passed the House Committee on Administration. This was a big step forward, but we need to make sure it gets put to a vote on the floor of the House. When asked whether the bill would be put to a vote, Speaker Pelosi said, "make me do it." Here is an email from Fix Congress First, letting you know how you can help: -------------------------- It's critical that we put pressure on the House this week to make sure there's a vote on the Fair Elections Now Act. Here are three things you can do to help: 1. Sign a letter urging Nancy Pelosi to put the Fair Elections Now Act to a vote. Rep. Charles Pingree has written a letter to Pelosi asking her to bring the Fair Elections Now Act to the floor. Our friends at Bold Progressives have started a petition to urge other members of Congress to sign the letter. Click here to ask your representative to add his or her name to the Pingree letter. 2. Ask your congressperson to support the Fair Elections Now Act. Click here to use our whip tool to see if your representatives support the bill. If not, we'll give you their phone numbers and some ways to ask for their support. 3. Tell a friend about Fix Congress First. This isn't the end of the fight. We need more help. Can you tell a friend about the work we're doing around fair elections? You can invite your friends to join our mailing list, or point them to our communities on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for your support. Best, Joey Mornin and the Fix Congress First team -------------------------------- Rob Arnow

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Donate to save public financing in San Francisco!
by Rob Arnow, Voter Owned Elections 24 Mar '10

24 Mar '10

Supporters of democracy ~ For the last several years, I've worked on the public financing issue as a volunteer. But, due to personal circumstances, I can no longer continue in the role I've been playing. Because of that, we are looking to hire an organizer to make sure we have public financing in the 2011 mayoral race. In order to do that, we need someone to work through this year's budget season, which starts now and goes through June. In the absence of hiring someone to work on this issue, it's very likely, in fact almost certain, that we won't have adequate public financing funds for the 2011 mayoral race, and all the work we've done over these years will have been in vein. Should we succeed this year, we will likely elect a mayor who uses and supports public financing, which will put us in a much more secure position for the future. We have some good candidates to do this work, but we need to raise $7000 in the next couple of weeks. I'm putting $1000 of my own money into this, to show that I'm serious, and to inspire others to contribute. Another donor has also pledged $1000. Can you donate $100, $500 or $1000 to this effort? Contact me if you can. Thanks, Rob Arnow -- San Franciscans for Voter Owned Elections www.voterownedelections.org 415-596-5808

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Looking for part-time organizer - know anyone?
by Rob Arnow, Voter Owned Elections 17 Mar '10

17 Mar '10

Fair elections afficionados ~ For this year's budget season (which will determine the amount of funds available for public financing in the 2011 mayoral race) we're looking for a paid organizer to assist our efforts. Are you, or do you know of anyone who might be interested in this? It will likely be about 10-20 of work per week, over the next 3 months. Payments is negotiable. Of course, experience in this line of work would be helpful, and in particular, familiarity with the local political scene. That said, someone with talent, dedication, and intelligence could potentially gain familiarity through the work. Please let me know if you have any thoughts. Thanks, Rob Arnow -- San Franciscans for Voter Owned Elections www.voterownedelections.org 415-552-2229

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CA Fair Elections Kick-Off this Sunday and more....
by Rob Arnow, Voter Owned Elections 17 Feb '10

17 Feb '10

Friends of democracy ~ A couple of announcements related to fair elections. 1. Prop.15 kicks off it's campaign this Sunday at 1pm in San Francisco. Prop. 15 will be on this June's ballot and would create a pilot program of full public financing for Secretary of State races in California. This is an important step towards getting public financing for all California races. See details below. 2. MoveOn is protesting the Democratic leadership's weak response to the Citizen's United ruling. Instead of pushing for full public financing of campaigns the Democratic leadership has put some token reforms on the table. In order to get the attention of congress MoveOn is asking activists to drop off bags of potatoes at Pelosi's office, to signify that the Democratic leadership's response is "small potatoes" and that we need something truly effective. See details below. ----------------------------------------------------------- 1. Proposition 15 Campaign Kickoff! Come to the local campaign kickoff for Prop 15, which will be on this June's ballot and would create a pilot program of full public financing for Secretary of State races in California. Join Senators Loni Hancock and Mark Leno, and Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, California Nurses Association Co-President Deborah Burger, campaign chair Trent Lange, and others so you can help pass Fair Elections that money can't buy. WHEN: Sunday, February 21 from 1pm-3pm WHERE: San Francisco Main Library 100 Larkin Street at Grove San Francisco, CA 94102 Proposition 15, the California Fair Elections Act (CFEA) represents fundamental election reform that will allow candidates and elected officials to get out of the money game and get back to solving California’s problems. 2. MoveOn Action for Fair Elections in SF Last week, Democratic leaders announced their plan to stop the flood of corporate money into politics. Unfortunately, the Democrats' plan is small potatoes—especially compared to the threat posed by the Supreme Court decision allowing unlimited corporate spending on political campaigns. The good news is that the bill's authors say they will strengthen it if they hear from enough people, so we can definitely still have an impact. Can you drop by Rep. Nancy Pelosi's office tomorrow or Thursday and deliver a bag of small potatoes to let her know that this proposal isn't enough? All you need to do is grab your potatoes (really, any size potatoes will do) and print a flyer to bring with you. We'll provide a flyer you can bring with you. Click here if you can do it: http://pol.moveon.org/smallpotatoes/index.html? location_id=15&pri=1&id=18956-5256944-r_sLX7x&t=3 The Democratic plan, proposed by Representative Chris Van Hollen and Senator Chuck Schumer, currently includes these main provisions: • Public disclosure: The proposal includes a number of provisions intended to make sure the public knows which corporations are funding the ads we see on TV during the election. • Foreign corporations: The plan would bar most political spending by foreign-owned corporations. • Government contractors: The proposal would stop government contractors from spending on political campaigns. This just doesn't cut it—not after the Supreme Court put our democracy up for sale to the highest bidder. This is a plan that basically says it's OK for most corporations to buy elections, as long as they tell us they're doing it. Under the bipartisan Fair Elections Now Act, a fund would be created from a small fee on big government contractors and media corporations. Then, candidates who only take contributions below $100 will get those small donations matched four times over from the Fair Elections fund. The Fair Elections Now Act is modeled on successful citizen-funded elections in states like Maine and Connecticut, and a new poll shows it's a winner with voters across the political spectrum. To save our democracy, we need citizen-funded elections, not small potatoes like the Van Hollen-Schumer plan. You can help by delivering a bag of small potatoes to Rep. Pelosi's office tomorrow or Thursday with a flyer urging Congress to pass the Fair Elections Now Act? It's urgent, so it needs to happen right away. Click here if you can do it: http://pol.moveon.org/smallpotatoes/index.html? location_id=15&pri=1&id=18956-5256944-r_sLX7x&t=4

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Support Fair Elections Now!
by Rob Arnow, Voter Owned Elections 02 Feb '10

02 Feb '10

Friends of democracy ~ We have an extraordinary opportunity right now created by the outrage at the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United, striking down limits on independent political expenditures by corporations. There is a real chance that Congress might now create citizen funded elections by enacting the Fair Elections Now Act (H.R. 1826). That bill would fundamentally transform our system by unburdening our representatives from their dependence on campaign funders. In the coming days, the House of Representatives will be holding hearings to determine what to do about last month's Supreme Court decision. There are a host of proposals on the table -- some quite strong, some hardly adequate to address the problem facing our democracy. But none is as strong as the Fair Elections Now Act. If you want to help Fair Elections pass, you must act today. Use Change Congress' tool to contact your representative and tell them why you support this vital act: http://action.change-congress.org/FairElections Of all the legislative remedies that have been proposed in the wake of the Citizens United ruling, only Fair Elections gets to the heart of the matter. It would finally give regular citizens, who have public support, but no desire to take special interest money, the ability to get public funding in order to wage competitive campaigns. Rob Arnow San Franciscans for Voter Owned Elections www.voterownedelections.org

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Supreme Court's decision opens flood gates to corporate cash
by Rob Arnow, Voter Owned Elections 22 Jan '10

22 Jan '10

Friends of Democracy ~ Yesterday, the Supreme Court announced a disastrous rollback of campaign finance laws. Their 5-4 decision gives corporations free rein to spend unlimited amounts of money on elections. It's a horrible decision. But we can undo the damage if Congress passes public financing of elections, which would give those who aren't doing the bidding of big money special interests the ability to compete. The Fair Elections Now Act, which is currently in congress with over 100 co-sponsors, is a powerful bill that would offer full public financing for congressional candidates. President Obama has called for a strong legislative response to the Supreme Court travesty, so we may have a window of opportunity for passing a strong reform bill right now. There are a couple of things we can do to: 1. I just signed a petition urging Congress to pass public financing of elections quickly--can you join me at the link below? http://pol.moveon.org/fairelectionsnow/?r_by=18673-5256944- nWscmix&rc=paste 2. Donate to Common Cause, the force behind the Fair Elections Now Act, our best hope for real reform: https://www.kintera.org/site/apps/ka/sd/donor.asp? c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=5760481&en=ewLVL9NQKcLQJbPZKgLQKhO0KnLbKlPZJqJ0JfMZIiKXK 9N1LAJ Thanks! Rob Arnow -- San Franciscans for Voter Owned Elections www.voterownedelections.org 415-552-2229

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Double your impact for Fair Elections
by Rob Arnow, Voter Owned Elections 31 Dec '09

31 Dec '09

Friends of Democracy ~ The control of Wall Street and big money over our political process, at the expense of ordinary Americans, has never been more apparent. It has little to do with personalities, and everything to do with a system where politicians need to do the bidding of large contributors in order to finance their campaigns. With that in mind, I wanted to forward this appeal for funds for the California Fair Elections Act, which will be on this June's ballot, and would create an important pilot program for full public financing of elections at the state level. Building support for these programs locally will help create momentum towards full public financing of U.S. congressional elections.... Thanks, Rob Arnow -- San Franciscans for Voter Owned Elections www.voterownedelections.org 415-552-2229 ----------------------------------------- Act Quickly to Double Your Contribution! A strong coalition is forming behind the California Fair Elections Act on next June's ballot, with the League of Women Voters of California, California Common Cause, and the California Nurses Association joining with the California Clean Money Campaign and over 200 other endorsing organizations and leaders to get it passed. DECEMBER 31ST IS CRITICAL TO SHOW THE STRENGTH OF OUR CAMPAIGN That's why CCMC board members have stepped up to match all contributions made in December on a dollar-for-dollar basis, up to $10,000. Please make your donation so we can match it now! The California Fair Elections Act is our best chance ever to slow the outrageous amounts of money in politics and get politicians out of the fundraising game so they focus on what we elect them to do. Grassroots activists are responding - 13 local campaign kick-offs across the state are being planned for late January through March! Now we need to provide them the support they need.

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Public Financing Funds Partially Restored!
by Rob Arnow, Voter Owned Elections 25 Aug '09

25 Aug '09

Friends of Democracy ~ sorry it's taken us so long to get this information to you. The budget deals were so complicated that even after they were voted on it took us some time to sort out what actually happened. *Thanks to your help and pressure, the Board of Supervisors ended up restoring $1.3 million of the $2.3 million the mayor had raided from the public campaign financing fund.* *They also set aside another $1 million, which is on reserve to be used for either public financing, or the Convention Center. That will be decided later in the year. * Despite the fact that not all the funds were restored, as we had hoped for, and had been promised, we are still happy that a good chunk was. We do realize that in such a difficult budget situation, getting over half restored was a significant victory. But, because of additional cuts coming down the line later this year, there is still a possibility that Mayor Newsom may try to raid the public financing fund again -- so we have to stay ever-vigilant. In addition, since the allocation this year is a million dollars short of what is needed, the Board of Supervisors will have to add a million dollars extra in next year's allocation to ensure that there is enough money for the mayoral race in 2011. * Can you contact Budget Chair John Avalos to thank him for restoring some of the funds, and ask him if he can direct 50% of the $1 million on reserve to the public financing fund? * Supervisor John Avalos john.avalos(a)sfgov.org (415) 554-6975 * We'd also like to send our thanks to Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi and Supervisor Chris Daly who worked hard to see this restoration happen. * Rob Arnow -- San Franciscans for Voter Owned Elections www.voterownedelections.org 415-552-2229 "I also believe that if we're serious about change, we need to have a real discussion about public financing for congressional elections. Because even if we can stop lobbyists from buying us lunch or taking us out on junkets, they'll still be able to attend our fundraisers -- and that's access the average American doesn't have." --- Barack Obama, August 2, 2007

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