Public campaign financing: County Council Town Hall to examine “voter-owned” elections

Seven states and the city of Portland, Oregon, run public campaign financing systems, and some say it’s time for King County to join the “voter-owned” elections movement.

The King County Council will hold a special Town Hall Meeting on Monday, May 19 to discuss the feasibility of creating such a system for county offices.

The Town Hall will be held at the Shoreline Room of the Shoreline Conference Center, 18560 1st Ave. NE in Shoreline. The public is invited to meet face-to-face with King County Councilmembers at an informal reception starting at 6:00 p.m. The Town Hall will begin at 6:30 p.m.

“King County and the city of Seattle ran successful public campaign financing programs in the 1980s before opponents used a state initiative to close them down,” said Councilmember Dow Constantine, chair of the Committee of the Whole. “Public financing could free candidates from perpetual fundraising and keep the focus of campaigns on issues and communicating directly with voters.”

“Public campaign financing allows candidates to spend time meeting with voters, rather than dialing for dollars, and helps remove undue influence of special interest groups,” said Councilmember Bob Ferguson, whose district is hosting the Town Hall. “The ultimate decision of whether to bring public campaign financing to King County rests with the voters, which is why this meeting provides citizens with a great opportunity to learn about this issue and have their questions answered.”

At the Town Hall, the public and Councilmembers will receive the results of a campaign finance reform study the Council initiated in April and hear a panel discussion regarding public campaign financing. Those scheduled to be part of the panel include:

• Joaquin Ávila, a member of the City of Seattle task force currently studying public campaign financing, who will speak about underrepresented communities and the potential public financing holds to expand political participation in minority communities. Ávila is an Assistant Professor of Law at Seattle University and a nationally-renowned minority voting rights expert. Ávila has served as President and General Counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and is a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship “Genius award.”

• Former King County Councilmember Lois North, who will offer an historical look at public campaign financing in King County. North voted to adopt the public matching fund program in place in King County between 1989 and 1992. North was one of the freeholders who wrote the King County Charter which brought home-rule government to King County and is serving as co-chair of the current Charter Review process.

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.

Last month, the County Council adopted a motion co-sponsored by Councilmembers Ferguson, Constantine and Larry Phillips. The motion 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.

At the end of the program, the Council will take open public testimony on any issue.

Town Hall Meetings are part of Councilmembers’ initiative to “get out of the courthouse” and into the communities they serve. In 2008, the Council has held Town Hall meetings in Kent to discuss the proposed Equity and Justice Initiative and in Burien to listen to the public on reshaping how the county cares for animals.

Each Town Hall is a special meeting of the Council’s Committee of the Whole, the only standing committee on which all nine members serve. It considers legislation and policy issues of interest to the entire Council.