Greens decry defeat of public financing bill, note measure would have gone a long way to reducing power of special interests in elections
GREEN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA NEWS RELEASE
SACRAMENTO (June 22, 2006) - Greens chalked up the defeat Wednesday here of public financing legislation that would benefit all political parties - and go a long way to cleaning up elections by reducing the power of special interests - to the influence of those special interests.
The measure, AB583, was approved 47-31 in the Assembly last year. But it failed to get a third vote necessary to move out of the Senate Elections Committee Wednesday. Authored by Assemblymember Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley), the bill died when other Democrats would not support it.
The "California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act" would have established a voluntary system of public funding of campaigns similar to those in Arizona, Connecticut and Maine. Candidates from all parties, and independents, could qualify for millions of dollars in public campaign funding by following a set a rules designed to limit the influence of special interests.
"The measure would have gone a long way toward creating a more democratic political process in California by providing a cleaner image to voters, who have been driven away from the polls because of the corruption and unfairness in our system," said Dr. Forrest Hill, the Secretary of State candidate for the Green Party of California.
Hill, who is campaigning to "democratize" California elections to make every vote count, said the defeat of that legislation will just add to voter apathy in November after a record-low turnout in the June Primary Election.
"The bill would have diminished the perception of corruption in politics, and would have opened up our elections to smaller parties and those in the electorate who are desperately seeking choices at the ballot box, but who now feel disenfranchised and fail to vote," said Hill.
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916.996.9170,
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Daniel Brezenoff (Southern California),
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Susan King (San Francisco),
415.823.5524,
The Green Party of California
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