"The arms race for money that drives our campaigns threatens the concept of one person, one vote."
Letter Commends Reform Leadership
March 5, 2008
Statement on Gubernatorial Campaign Finance Reform
At the outset we want to make it clear that NCVCE and its partners do not endorse candidates for public office, but we do like to recognize candidates that demonstrate leadership on the campaign reform issues we care about.
And in a year when total campaign fundraising is at record levels, we commend Lt. Governor Perdue’s and State Treasurer Richard Moore’s call to reform the way campaigns for governor and other statewide offices are financed.
In a release sent out yesterday, Perdue said that if elected governor her “goal will be to turn North Carolina into one of the leading clean-elections states in the nation.” The proposal states that the current private campaign financing system undermines the public’s trust, and that an alternative source of money is needed so that candidates are not forced to rely on big contributions from special interest groups.
And in a release sent out today, Moore called for the creation of a similar program, noting that an alternative campaign financing system would allow candidates to engage in more grassroots campaigning.
Their recognition of the need to fundamentally change the way gubernatorial campaigns are financed is laudable. Now is the time for all of the other gubernatorial candidates to issue their own proposals, and to contribute to this important dialogue. We call upon the other Democratic and Republican campaigns to join this conversation.
As members of the campaign reform coalition NC Voters for Clean Elections, which includes Democracy NC, Common Cause NC, NC PIRG, League of Women Voters, and the Center for Voter Education among two dozen other organizations, we look forward to what a vibrant campaign finance reform conversation between all of the gubernatorial candidates could reap. This should be the beginning of a process to develop serious and substantive campaign financing alternatives. We hope to work with candidates throughout the rest of the year on the details of a comprehensive proposal, and we will hold candidates to their word to seriously pursue this process.
Hundreds of leaders in government, business, and universities—from Jim Hunt to Jim Exum to Jim Holhouser—have already been calling for an alternative to the private money chase for years; and as the public, candidates, and campaign donors realize that there are workable alternatives, support for Voter-Owned Elections continues to grow.
Now is the opportunity for all of our state leaders to come together around the common purpose of cleaning up our system of government and propose a real alternative to the private money chase. Now is the time for solutions that meaningfully restore the vitality of our democracy.
We want to again state clearly that in this statement and otherwise, neither NCVCE nor its coalition partners endorse any candidate for Governor nor any other public office.
Sincerely,
NC Voters for Clean Elections Coalition