Slowing progress
After years of advocacy, public financing of state election campaigns is so, so close. We have the legal green light. We have the guidelines written, the procedures planned. All we need is the money and we’re there.
And now, with funding in the executive budget, the Assembly’s getting cold feet. Democrats in the chamber are voicing concerns about the rollout of the program and raising the specter of a delay.
The public campaign financing program — a long-sought goal of goodgovernment reformers that can help put regular voters on par with bigmoney donors — is set to work like this: Small donations from individuals are amplified with state funds. In legislative races, donations of less than $50 are matched $12 to $1, and the matching rate goes down as the donation amount goes up. The maximum match is on a $250 donation, which is eligible for $2,300 in public matching funds, making it worth $2,550 to the candidate.
In legislative races, only in-district donations are matched. Candidates’ participation in the program is voluntary. And though public funds are limited, candidates can still raise money on their own as well.
Why are some lawmakers pumping the brakes now? Well, the Assembly lines are getting redrawn, you see. Redistricting ’s still up in the air.
Frankly, this would be outrageous if it wasn’t so predictable. New York gets to the brink of a meaningful reform, something that represents systemic change, a chance at a more equitable system — and suddenly the energy fizzles. People start shuffling papers, checking their watches.
We’ve seen it happen with efforts for independent redistricting — seen it a few times, in fact, and with members of both parties. The most egregious was Senate Republicans’ 2010 electionseason “pledge” to create a nonpartisan redistricting commission. That pledge was crumpled up and tossed aside as soon as they regained the majority.
A cynic would say these Assembly members are recognizing that being an incumbent is an advantage that could be lost if the district lines move — they’d be introducing themselves to a new group of voters at the same time they ’re juggling a new fundraising setup that favors in-district donations. (And a 2019 Reinvent Albany report noted Assembly leaders got just 16 percent of their donations, on average, from within their district.)
And don’t forget that if the Independent Redistricting Commission had actually been independent, and if Democrats hadn’t tried to bend the district lines in their favor, we wouldn’t still be waiting on redrawn maps.
A delay in public financing may serve incumbents, but it won’t serve the public.
The goal of this new system is to help get big money and its influence out of elections, making our representatives more independent and remaking Albany’s notorious pay-to-play culture. The goal is to level the field, making elections more competitive and giving more people a way into public service.
The goal is not to help incumbents keep their posts. Hey, if their constituents vote them back in, good for them. But they have no more right to the job than the next person on the ballot.
New Yorkers have been waiting years for this. Don’t make them wait any longer.