Why Prop 15 is Good for the Public’s Interest
California has among the weakest campaign finance rules of any
state in the country. As a result, 97% of the time in our last general
elections the candidate who raised the most money was elected, and
nearly all of the money came from big donors who gave more than $250 a
piece. In today’s economy only well-healed interests can afford to
have that kind of influence.
When big money funds elections and big money decides who wins, is it
any wonder that legislators listen to big money interests instead of
their constituents back home? To get California back on track, we need
to change the way we finance campaigns to put elected officials out of
the fundraising game.
Proposition 15 repeals existing barriers to campaign finance reform and
establishes a Fair Elections pilot program of public financing for
Secretary of State elections. Candidates would qualify by showing broad
grassroots support. They would then be barred from raising any private
campaign funds and instead receive a limited amount of public funds for
their campaigns.