Lawmakers iffy on ‘clean elections’ in Arizona

December 14, 2009   •  By Jeff Patch
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The Arizona Daily Star, the paper of record Tucson, published a devastating article today on the state’s program for taxpayer financed campaigns.

A snippet:

But even the guy who helped bankroll the campaign to get it approved, former Democratic Party Chairman Jim Pederson, now says it was a mistake — not only failing to achieve those goals, but actually contributing to more partisanship and the exclusion of political minority perspectives.

Harsh, but true.

The Daily Star breaks down the data:

The fact is, Arizona has a Legislature that pretty much looks the way it did before the act took effect – largely white, largely male, largely entrenched and largely Republican.

Back in 1998, women made up about 37 percent of the Legislature. They make up 31 percent now.

Of the 90 members in 1998, 19 were from ethnic minorities. Now, 16.

And those in power still tend to stay there. In the session prior to the law passing, there were 31 freshmen. This session? 28.

Finally, a state lawmaker confirms research by the Center for Competitive Politics in New Jersey, showing that organized interest groups and lobbyists — surprise! — help in raising small qualifying contributions to leverage government campaign welfare for favored candidates:

Lobbyists still help politicians collect the requisite number of $5 donations… So there are people here who still seem to be heavily influenced by lobbyists even if they’ve run under Clean Elections.”      

Sen. Jonathan Paton, a Tucson Republican, said the influence of lobbyists is all too clear. Clean Elections may talk a good game about tamping down big money and influence, he noted, but to help the commission at the Legislature, Clean Elections hired Michael Williams, a lobbyist well-known for hosting fundraisers. [emphasis added]

Jeff Patch

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