Public, Council discuss "voter-owned" elections 

An audience of more than 130 people joined the County Council at the Shoreline Conference Center May 19 to discuss if King County should join seven states and the city of Portland, Oregon in creating "voter-owned" elections.  Public campaign financing, or voter-owned elections, allows candidates to receive public funding for their campaigns once they demonstrate broad community support.

Councilmembers and the audience heard from Council staff on the results of a campaign finance reform study the Council initiated. There was also a panel discussion featuring Joaquin Ávila, a member of the City of Seattle task force currently studying public campaign financing and former King County Councilmember Lois North, who offered 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.

Town Hall Meeting 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.

Please join the King County Council in Shoreline for a special Town Hall Meeting on the feasibility of implementing public campaign financing for county races:

Public Campaign Financing

Monday, May 19
6:00 pm - Public Reception
6:30 to 8:30 pm - Program

Shoreline Conference Center, Shoreline Room
18560 1st Ave NE, Shoreline
Directions

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.

Presenters and panelists will take questions from the audience, and there will be open public testimony at the conclusion of the meeting.

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 Bob Ferguson, Dow 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.

More about Town Halls

The County Council is a regional government committed to engaging King County residents in their local communities. Throughout the year, the Council holds local Town Hall Meetings on issues of public importance. Community members have the opportunity to meet Councilmembers, be briefed by local and regional experts, and provide public testimony.

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

Since 2007, more than 2,600 people have met with Councilmembers at Town Halls held in Burien, Kent, West Seattle, Renton, Redmond, on the Seattle Waterfront, Shoreline, Maple Valley, Sammamish and Seattle's Central Area.

Questions? Please email CouncilTownHall@kingcounty.gov or call 206-296-0335.