Leveling the playing field with public campaign financing

Council to study “voter-owned elections” for King County

Recognizing that in today’s political environment, running for office can mean spending more time dialing for dollars than focusing on the issues, the Metropolitan King County Council today approved legislation to study the possibility of bringing public campaign financing to King County races. Under state law, any plan the County Council develops for campaign financing would require approval by the voters.

Public campaign financing, or voter-owned elections, allows candidates to receive public funding for their campaigns once they demonstrate broad community support. A candidate must collect a set number of small “qualifying contributions” from voters in their district in order to become eligible to receive the public funds. For example, a candidate might have to raise 500 small contributions of $5 each in order to qualify for public financing.

“Public financing encourages candidates to demonstrate viability by seeking a broad spectrum of small donors, rather than a small concentration of large donors,” said Councilmember Bob Ferguson, a co-sponsor of the legislation. “Voter-owned elections free candidates to focus on the concerns of citizens rather than major donors and lobbyists, who sometimes tend to hold disproportionate influence in local races.”

“Fundraising has assumed too important a role in modern elections,” said Councilmember Dow Constantine. “Public campaign financing can elevate ideas and issues and de-emphasize wealth and connections.”

“All citizens should have equal access to running for public office, and candidates shouldn’t be beholden to wealthy donors and special interests to get elected,” said Councilmember Larry Phillips, who testified in Olympia in support of campaign financing. “In my first race for the County Council I benefited from public campaign financing, and I want to ensure other candidates have the same access so that voters have more choices.”

The motion adopted by the Council directs council staff to:

• Review existing local law pertaining to campaign financing;
• Review trends in the cost of campaigns for elective local office;
• Review the history of public financing in Seattle and King County prior to 1993;
• Estimate costs associated with implementation and oversight of public campaign financing;
• Research options for funding these costs

Craig Salins, director of Washington Public Campaigns, describes campaign financing as “a program proven in other states that levels the financial playing field for candidates who have demonstrated community support and would be good in office, even if they don't have personal wealth or exceptional ability to dial for dollars.”

A diverse group of states and cities operate public campaign financing systems, including Arizona, Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Vermont, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Portland, Oregon.

“The campaign system we have, which effectively shifts attention during elections from representation to money, will never change unless the people who benefit from it are willing to change it,” added Ferguson. “This legislation is the first step towards opening up the electoral process.”

The County Council will hold a special Town Hall Meeting to hear public comment on public campaign financing on Monday, May 19 at the Shoreline Conference Center, 18560 1st Avenue Northeast, The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m., with a reception beginning at 6:00 p.m.

The Washington State Legislature adopted legislation during the 2008 session allowing local jurisdictions, such as cities or counties, to enact public campaign financing systems. The city of Seattle has also introduced legislation to study public campaign financing for city elections.


Read more about this legislation on the King County Council’s LEGISEARCH system. Type in “2007-0430.2”