Reform the reform

The nine appointees on the jury-rigged Public Campaign Finance Commission, tapped by the governor and legislative leaders, are doing their job as expected, crafting a scheme full of incumbent-friendly booby traps, loopholes, poison pills and trap doors.

Given no resources and no staff by the elected politicians who created the panel — probably unconstitutionally ceding their legislative authority in the process — the panelists have been both too broad and too narrow in pursuing their mandate.

Too broad, in that they’ve looked for ways to kneecap minor parties that are a thorn in the side of the Democrats and Republicans.

Too narrow, in that they’ve punted on regulating party committees, which can collect $117,300 contributions and then transfer that haul directly to candidates without limits.

So why just not bar candidates, who they can regulate, from receiving such large amounts?

Equally important: Why is the current cap of $69,700 for statewide contenders only being trimmed down to the still far too high range of $25,000 to $16,000? The presidential and congressional limit is $5,600.

On public matching funds, the panel is looking to confine matchable contributions to a legislative district, which is strange. And incumbents will have the ability to roll over money from earlier races. How is that a level playing field for challengers?

The city’s successful matching program forbids rollovers, has much lower limits, which are getting lower, and severely curtails contributions from those with business with the city to just $400.

Campaign finance commissioners had one job. They blew it.