As a newly elected official to serve as a Park Board Commissioner, I have lots of thoughts about campaign finance. Even in the small fish bowl of city elections, we have a terrible system with too much money and not enough voters. We are too tolerant of a system where buying influence is standard operating procedure and perfectly legal.
At least with campaign finance reporting requirements we can look at who has contributed over $100 to candidate's campaigns. There are also limits to the amounts that can be given to candidates. In my case, $300 per contributor in an election year. Political Fund committees (PAC money) have come to have a large role in local elections. I didn't accept any PAC money as an individual decision. In the Park Board elections there were competing PACS that had influence on the Park Board Elections. PACS can give to individual campaigns with the same limits as individuals. But PACS can spend unlimited amounts of money on issues they support. It is the independent expenditures (that are theoretically and legally not to be coordinated with candidates), that are like an invisible hand that tips the scales. This is where our flawed but transparent system gets foggy, because even though there is a recording of expenditures, there is no longer an easily observable connection to purchased influence. Because of recent changes in State Law, things have gotten worse. Political fund committees that file with the state no longer have to file with Hennepin County. Unfortunately the State requirements are only- a year end report. So unlimited "influence" money can be spent on local campaigns and none of this will be revealed until after newly electeds are sworn in and public interest has waned. Thanks, Scott Vreeland Seward I also think that it is also a legislative blunder to have created a system where the Minneapolis City Elections office can no longer give out candidates addresses or contact information. REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
