Public Campaign Financing: Who?
If, at this point, you are willing to consider that public financing of campaigns would serve our purposes as much if not more than the candidates, there still remain some difficult questions. First up is: How do we decide who is eligible for financing? It isn’t practical to just leave it open to anyone who wants to run for office. On the other hand, we certainly don’t want to set up complicated regulations that would call for a major administrative system to monitor the process.
In his book, As If We Were Grownups, Jeff Golden offers one possible approach based on an initiative that was included in Oregon’s 2000 ballot.
Basically, it would require small contributions say, $5, from a minimum number of voters, say, 10,000. Amassing that kind of support would indicate the aspiring candidate is serious and has the potential to run for office at taxpayer’s expense. The dollar and voter numbers could be adjusted for the various offices of Senator, Congressman, and President.
One advantage I see in this method is the return of the choice of candidates to the people. It would give local officials with exceptional leadership qualities access to national exposure through the support of their constituents, something they do not have now. Excellent leaders exist in states across the country but with the current system there is no viable path for them to reach the national level.
This method would also give major party candidates the ability to run for office without having to kowtow to special interests; and it would go a long way toward eliminating the “Old Boy� system that gives us candidates based on political IOU’s rather than qualifications.
Eternal optimist that I am, I believe it might even make it possible for our elected officials to become what they should be, and what we need them to be, leaders.