Defenders of clean elections -- WHAT: Stop a raid on the public campaign financing fund! WHEN: TOMORROW! (Tuesday the 24th) 8:30AM sharp. WHERE: Room 416, City Hall PLEASE RSVP: We'll need lots of people there We did an analysis of the impact if this proposal passes, and it turns that if $5 million is removed from the fund there will not be enough to even come close to covering the baseline amount of funding necessary for the next mayoral race. We would be gambling the program on uncertain promises to return the money at a later date. *While most programs are being cut between 5% - 20%, the Mayor is proposing a 250% cut to the public financing fund* -- not just cutting our annual allocation, but actually removing 2.5 years of allocations out of the fund in one fell swoop. The fund, which now covers both mayoral and supervisorial elections, would be reduced in size from $9.3M to $4.3M. According to the Director of Ethics Commission, just to meet the minimum baseline funding for the next mayoral race would require no fund raids after this year, continued baseline funding, AND will require a large and uncertain supplemental appropriation. The Ethics Commission has called a special meeting to consider whether to give their blessing to this plan this Tuesday morning at 8:30am, and we need the help of all of you, to soundly defeat this proposal. This one is going to be difficult, truly, so please make it. Our most friendly commissioner is on vacation, and the mayor's appointee will probably be against us, leaving 3 votes up for grabs. We need a majority to take the wind out of the sails of this plan. A special meeting was called for this item, so it will be the only thing on the agenda, meaning it shouldn't take a huge amount of your time. Can you make it? This is an important one. Please RSVP and let me know. P.S. We will be putting forth a ballot initiative to secure the funding in the future, but in the mean time, we need to defend what's there. Rob Arnow San Franciscans for Voter Owned Elections www.voterownedelections.org 415-552-2229