Diligent Defenders of Democracy ~ *Its time to pour on the pressure.* We need tons of email to the swing Supervisors immediately, letting them know that we don't want to see the public campaign financing fund raided. As expected, we found out yesterday that this will indeed pass out of Budget Committee to the full Board of Supervisors, so we'll need to win the fight there. Over a dozen of us spoke eloquently at the Budget hearing, and then visited Supervisors offices en masse. It made a strong impression, but we need much more. This will go to the full Board on July 22, just over a week from now. Right now, it seems we have 4 votes, and we'll need to get to 6. /Media on this issue:/ Our op-ed in the Guardian <http://www.sfbg.com/entry.php?entry_id=6651&catid=4&volume_id=317&issue_id=385&volume_num=40&issue_num=40> BeyondChron article <http://beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=5851#more> Examiner Article <http://www.examiner.com/a-1480874%7EUse_of_public_finance_dollars_raises_concerns.html> *Contact the swing Supervisors! (and BCC me or let me know you've called) * Let them know that they should oppose the proposal to raid the public campaign financing fund (see more detailed talking points below) Gerardo Sandoval 554-6975 gerardo.sandoval@sfgov.org Bevan Dufty bevan.dufty@sfgov.org 554-6968 Sophie Maxwell sophie.maxwell@sfgov.org 554-7670 ------------------------------------ *Would result in severe underfunding for future races* According to Ethics Commission spending projections, were this proposal to pass and the funds not be returned at a later date, the 2011 mayoral race would be $1.5 million - $4.3 million short of the $6 million minimum needed for a mayoral race, assuming the program receives full funding in upcoming years and that there are no additional raids on the fund. *Don't sweep this under the rug* In order to make up the shortfall would require a $3.3 - $6 million appropriation to the program in 2010. With no prospects of an improving budget situation, this is unlikely to occur, and if does, will be an even greater strain on the budget. This proposal doesn't create new money, it simply moves it around in a way that will create further problems in the future. * * * Sets a dangerous precedent * The logic of taking money out of the fund based on a budget shortfall will leave the program bankrupt. With budget shortfalls likely to continue into the near future, even if no more money is removed, it's unlikely that the program would receive full appropriations, plus the necessary supplementals. It's also poor public policy to have sitting politicians setting the specific level of funding for public campaign funding programs on an annual basis, since in general, publicly funded elections threaten incumbents by enabling less well-financed competitors to compete on a level playing field. Opening the door to this now will likely lead to renewed proposals to raid the fund on an annual basis. *No guarantee of return of the funds* Nothing short of a Charter Amendment approved by voters can legally guarantee the return of the funds, since the Charter grants budget authority to the Mayor and Board of Supervisors. An amendment to the Campaign Finance Reform Ordinance has no legally binding mechanisms as it relates to budgetary matters. *Much larger cut than other programs *The $5 million cut is equivalent to 2.5 years of funding for this program, or a 250% cut. In fact, the $1.8M appropriated this year is already about 10% short of what the formula suggested in the Campaign Finance Reform Ordinance recommends. *Public campaign financing saves money in the long run *By reducing the pay-to-play dynamic, where politicians feel incentives to give costly legislative favors to campaign contributors, public campaign financing saves far more than it costs in the long run. Our organization found $70 million in media-documented giveaways to campaign contributors in the space of just a few years, before the public funding program went into effect. Check out our examples: http://voterownedelections.org/save_money.html ------------------ Robert Arnow San Franciscans for Voter Owned Elections www.voterownedelections.org 415-552-2229