- Voterowned - list.sfgreens.org

IMPORTANT: Public Campaign Financing Update!!
by Voter Owned Elections 31 Oct '07

31 Oct '07

*Supporters of clean elections ~ * Important news on the public campaign financing front in San Francisco. *1. First, *we executed a simple yet effective strategy to take the wind out of the sails of the effort to remove money from the public campaign financing fund. Possibly as a result the Mayor's office cancelled the Ethics hearing on the matter. We're still not out of the woods yet though. *2. Secondly,* the important proposal to dramatically improve the Board of Supervisors public financing program is going to the full Board next Tuesday and we still need you all to contact the Supervisors to make sure that this crucial legislation passes. See below for details... *Wind taken out of the sails of the public campaign financing fund raid *The Mayor proposed taking money from the public campaign financing fund to pay for a college-prep program called SF Promise. Realizing that it probably would not pass at the Ethics Commission and the Board of Supervisors, the Mayor issued a threat to put legislation on the February ballot. Working with Board President Aaron Peskin, we had legislation submitted yesterday to fund SF Promise from General Fund dollars, rather than by taking the money from the public campaign financing program. Hopefully, this will take the wind out of any sails to remove money from the public financing fund, as any further attempts to take money from the public financing fund would be clearly designed to defund public campaign financing, rather than to help other valuable programs. As Peskin said, "We don't have to choose between investing in democracy and investing in our children. We can and should support both.'' Examiner article: http://www.examiner.com/a-1020424~Peskin_introduces_SF_Promise_legislation.… Even so, we're watching closely and have preparations underway just in case any further issues arise. *Still need contacts to Supervisors about important legislation to improve Board of Supes program* * *The Board of Supervisors public campaign financing program is outdated and does not provide candidates with enough matching funds to be truly effective. As a result, candidate participation in the program has been dropping. A very important piece of legislation to raise the level of matching funds will going to the Board of Supervisors for a vote next Tuesday, Nov. 6. In order to pass, the proposal needs 8 out of 11 votes -- so we need you to start contacting the Supervisors to ensure their support. *Please contact Supervisor Bevan Dufty. *Supervisor Dufty has generally been a supporter of campaign reform and valiantly stood with us previously when we created the mayoral public financing program. But because the Mayor was recently trying to take money from the public campaign financing fund and because Dufty and the mayor have a close relationship, we want to ensure that Supervisor Dufty hears from us and knows that there is a powerful constituency for public campaign financing in San Francisco. 554-6968 or Bevan.Dufty(a)sfgov.org Please thank him for his past support and ask him to please support the legislation to improve the Board of Supervisors public campaign financing program. Let him know that the current spending caps and matching levels are too low, and are resulting in fewer and fewer candidates participating. If you're looking for general public financing talking points check out: http://voterownedelections.org/improve_our_democracy.html After you've done that, please email or phone your personal district Supervisor. Their contact info is here: http://sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=7271 Thanks! Rob Arnow San Franciscans for Voter Owned Elections www.voterownedelections.org 415-552-2229

1 0

Public campaign financing under attack in SF!
by Voter Owned Elections 26 Oct '07

26 Oct '07

*Supporters of clean elections ~ * A lot has been happening with public campaign financing in San Francisco in the last couple of weeks. There are two important proposals moving forward as we speak, one to raid the public campaign financing fund, and one to significantly improve the Board of Supervisors program. Dangerous p*roposal to raid the public financing fund:* This proposal, coming out of the Mayor's office, will be heard by the Ethics Commission on *Monday Nov. 5 (election eve) at around 5:30pm*, so we really need as many of you as can make it to turn out and make sure that it is soundly defeated! Please mark your calendars if you haven't already! You can read more about this at www.voterownedelections.org/raid.html *There are also credible rumors that the Mayor's office, worried that they may not succeed at the Ethics Commission and the Board of Supervisors, are considering a February ballot initiative to raid the fund. *The more we can show our strength now, the less likely this proposal is to move forward. Of course, if it does we are ready to stand up and fight for clean elections, but we would prefer to not have to put our energy in this direction. So please, also contact the Mayor and ask him to back off of his attacks on public campaign financing and focus his energy on the important issues facing our City. *Please contact the Mayor's representative on this issue, Wade Crowfoot, at 702-5212 or wade.crowfoot(a)sfgov.org* *Important proposal to improve Board of Supervisors program: * The Board of Supervisors public campaign financing program is outdated and does not provide candidates with enough matching funds to be truly effective. As a result, candidate participation in the program has been dropping. A very important piece of legislation to raise the level of matching funds will going to the Board of Supervisors for a vote on Nov. 6. In order to pass, the proposal needs 8 out of 11 votes -- so we need you to start contacting the Supervisors to ensure their support. *Please contact Supervisor Bevan Dufty. *Supervisor Dufty has generally been a supporter of campaign reform and valiantly stood with us previously when we created the mayoral public financing program. But because the Mayor is currently trying to raid the public campaign financing fund and because Dufty and the mayor have a close relationship, we want to ensure that Supervisor Dufty hears from us and knows that there is a powerful constituency for public campaign financing in San Francisco. 554-6968 or Bevan.Dufty(a)sfgov.org Please thank him for his past support and ask him to please support the legislation to improve the Board of Supervisors public campaign financing program. If you're looking for talking points check out: http://voterownedelections.org/improve_our_democracy.html After you've done that, please email or phone your personal district Supervisor. Their contact info is here: http://sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=7271

1 0

Mayor attempting to raid S.F. public campaign financing fund! Need your help!
by Voter Owned Elections 16 Oct '07

16 Oct '07

*Supporters of campaign finance reform ~* The public campaign financing program we all worked so hard to implement for the mayoral race in San Francisco is currently under threat from a proposal coming out of the mayor's office. The proposal is to raid the fund and move half of the money to another program. This has been in the works for a few weeks now, but I held off on contacting you until I knew it was serious. On November 5, it seems that this proposal is scheduled to be considered by the Ethics Commission. *What?* Defend public campaign financing from a raid on the fund *When?* Early evening, Monday November 5 *Please mark your calenders and save the date!* After all the hard and remarkably successful work we did over the course of an entire year to bring public campaign financing to the mayor's race, we certainly aren't going to let the fund be raided! So we need you all out to show the Ethics Commission that San Francisco supports and is willing to come out to protect campaign finance reform! In the mean time, if you want to email or call the mayor's office and tell them you object to this proposal that would be very useful as well. It's possible if they receive enough opposition they will withdraw the proposal. The number is (415) 554-6141 and the email address is gavin.newsom(a)sfgov.org <mailto:gavin.newsom@sfgov.org> If you have any questions, or would like to discuss this issue in more detail, feel free to contact me at 415-596-5808 or info(a)voterownedelections.org. Below is a description to give you some background. Rob Arnow San Franciscans for Voter Owned Elections www.voterownedelections.org *Description of the proposal to raid the fund:* On Sept. 17, 2007, Mayor Newsom proposed raiding the Mayoral Public Financing fund to pay for a college preparatory program called SF Promise. Given the _Mayor's opposition to public campaign financing in San Francisco in the past_ <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/02/08/BAG3SH4R6R1.DTL>, its unclear whether this proposal was simply a case of good intentions misplaced, or an attack on campaign finance reform hidden behind the needs of our City's children. Because this year's mayoral race has been relatively uncontested, and no one has qualified for the funds, the Mayor claimed that the money remaining in the fund could be reallocated to other sources. Yet, a closer viewing of the legislation passed last year shows that this supposedly unused money needs to remain in the fund in order to ensure the effectiveness of the program in 2011. Currently, each year, $2 per San Francisco resident, approximately $1.5 million, is put into the Mayoral Public Financing account. Any funds remaining after an election are saved for the following election, except that the fund can never exceed $12 million. This results in the fund having a bare minimum of $6 million and a safe maximum of $12 million each 4-year election cycle. The mayor's proposal is to not carry over any funds to the 2011 election, thereby reducing the amount of funds which will be available to publicly financed candidates by 50%. This puts the effectiveness of the program at risk in what will likely be a hotly contested race for an open seat. * . Proposal sets a dangerous precedent* Public campaign financing, because of its ability to level the playing field, is sometimes viewed as a threat by incumbents, of all political stripes, who are usually the biggest fundraisers in a race. To allow one-time raids on a public campaign financing program is to open the door to case-by-base manipulations of the program when incumbents feel their re-election is threatened. Clearly, that is not the case here, but it set a dangerous precedent that could be abused in the future. *. The Mayoral Public Financing program already has provisions to return unused monies to the General Fund.* The law already states that when the Mayoral Public Financing fund exceeds $12 million any excess is returned to the General Fund to be used for other purposes. This proposal does not create additional funds for other purposes. Its simply diverts funding prematurely, before it's known whether or not it will be needed. ** * . The proposal to raid the fund does not go after funds that aren't used, but after funds that are not yet used, putting the effectiveness of the program at serious risk. * The proposal would effectively set funding at the minimal $6 million level in 2011, which would reduce the amount available to participating candidates by 50%. This would significantly weaken the ability of the program to achieve its goal of leveling the playing field in local elections. *. Public campaign financing will ensure budgets that adequately fund education*. Public financing will result in a net savings of money in the long run by reducing inappropriate favors that have taken place in the past as a result of a pay-to-play political system. It will also reduce waste by allowing politicians more time to focus on running government rather than raising money. This is money that can be diverted to education, clean streets, homelessness and the environment. To undermine the public financing program for the supposed benefit of education would end up having the opposite effect in the long term. _More about how public campaign financing saves money _ <http://voterownedelections.org/save_money.html> * . The funding mechanisms of the Mayoral Public Financing program have been carefully considered and vetted.* The Mayoral Public Financing program was voted into law less than 2 years ago by a unanimous Ethics Commission and 9 out of 11 of the members of the Board of Supervisors. It earned the support of 52 organizations and 15 elected officials. Its funding provisions were carefully considered and accepted at the time of passage, and it would be hasty and unwise to alter those decisions before the program has been tested at least once in a seriously contested election. *. Proposal will not actually guarantee funding for the other programs*. The financial future of other important programs should be based on a consistent, long-term funding stream, not on a one-time raid on another fund. Since the amount of money used in each election for public financing will vary, any ongoing program that attempts to use this pot of money for its funding will not have funding stability. * . Proposal to raid fund would be a blow to election reform*. Public campaign financing ensures that the candidates elected are responsive primarily to the needs of the public rather than private interests. This latest proposal to reduce by half the available resources of the program undermines that value and serves those would like to buy our elections.

1 0