Setback on campaign finance
The influence of money in elections is a cornerstone issue for every democracy. Unfortunately, California just took a big step backward.
Thanks to a provision of Proposition 73, an initiative approved by voters in 1988, local governments and the state of California can’t create public financing systems for political campaigns. (There’s an exception for charter cities. Six California charter cities, including San Francisco, have adopted limited public funding programs to match small campaign contributions.)
Last year, the state Legislature passed SB 1107, a measure from state Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, to allow cities, counties and the state to provide public financing for campaigns.
Lots of things have changed since 1988. A tidal wave of money has entered politics, spurred in part by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 decision to allow corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money on electioneering communications.
Studies of public financing programs, meanwhile, have shown they reduce politicians’ need to fundraise and increase the diversity of donors. Candidates who previously may have never had a shot are also encouraged to run.
Allen’s bill would’ve given California governments a new tool to reduce the influence of campaign spending.
Unfortunately, Judge Timothy Frawley, of the Sacramento Superior Court, just struck down the new law, arguing that it didn’t “further the purpose” of Proposition 73. Allen has said he’ll urge Attorney General Xavier Becerra to pursue an appeal. He should do so. But, ultimately, the final approval may need to come from the voters. In the 29 years since Proposition 73 passed, the issue of money ever.in politics is a bigger problem than Offering local governments and the state of California an alternative wouldn’t solve the problem. But it would begin to turn the tide — and allow communities to decide for themselves whether they want to experiment with ways to limit the influence of big money. That’s a worthy goal for democracy, and California must pursue it.
Attorney General Xavier Becerra should pursue an appeal of a decision that undermines local control of political campaign spending.