Friday, January 23, 2004
San Diego Committee Votes Down Reform and Votes in Deform
A five member panel of the San Diego City Council has rejected a reform proposal that would provide public funds to candidates, although one councilor vowed to bring the idea up again. The proposal would have matched private contributions up to $250 for mayor's races with double the public funds. Policies that increase the role of truly small donations may be a good idea, but using taxpayer money to enhance the power of contributions as large as $250 may be questionable. How many people do you know that would give $250 to a presidential candidate, let alone someone running for mayor?
The panel then went on to increase the maximum contribution that a mayoral candidate could accept from $250 to $300. I'm sure those donors who can afford to give at the top end appreciated the gesture. Details can be found here at the San Diego Union-Tribune.
A five member panel of the San Diego City Council has rejected a reform proposal that would provide public funds to candidates, although one councilor vowed to bring the idea up again. The proposal would have matched private contributions up to $250 for mayor's races with double the public funds. Policies that increase the role of truly small donations may be a good idea, but using taxpayer money to enhance the power of contributions as large as $250 may be questionable. How many people do you know that would give $250 to a presidential candidate, let alone someone running for mayor?
The panel then went on to increase the maximum contribution that a mayoral candidate could accept from $250 to $300. I'm sure those donors who can afford to give at the top end appreciated the gesture. Details can be found here at the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Comments:
Post a Comment
