Proposition 89 Gaining Support

California's two major good government organizations, the League of Women Voters of California and California Common Cause, joined a growing coalition of community-based organizations by endorsing Proposition 89.

"The League and Common Cause have actively worked to support reasonable measures including contribution limits, limits on campaign spending, partial public financing of campaigns, and better disclosure of the financing of campaigns," said Jackie Jacobberger, President of the League of Women Voters of California. "But the real solution to the runaway spending that has made California's elections a competition of money, not ideas, is public funding -- the Clean Money approach."

Proposition 89 mandates strict contribution limits, creates public financing of political campaigns and forces tough disclosure and enforcement for politicians.

"We face a serious problem with voter apathy and disgust over elections where there are no new ideas or faces," noted Kathay Feng, Executive Director of California Common Cause. "A Clean Money system levels the playing field for more qualified candidates with diverse points of view and backgrounds to run."

The "Clean Money" system of public financing of elections is similar to those already adopted in Maine and Arizona, where the system has lowered overall campaign spending, freed candidates from fundraising, increased turnout, and encouraged more qualified people to run including women and minorities.

"These states have proven that Clean Money elections are constitutional and they work," said Common Cause President Chellie Pingree. "Californians are tired of pay-to-play politics and negative ad wars. Proposition 89 would go a long way toward giving citizens a louder voice and a more responsive government."

In addition, Proposition 89 has gained the support of the Consumer Federation of California.

"All too often, consumer protection legislation is defeated in Sacramento by politicians who are beholden to the big business interests that bankroll their electoral campaigns," CFC's Executive Director Richard Holober stated. "Proposition 89 would help reduce the influence of corporate campaign contributions on elected officials. It will help to decrease the use of the ballot initiative as a vehicle for big business to enact legislation, and help restore the initiative to its original purpose as an expression of the people's will."

Daily updates on the initiative campaign's progress can be found at the Proposition 89 Blog.

Consumers and Prop 89

Consumer Federation of California Endorses Prop 89; Group Cites Corrosive Role of Big Business Money in Politics

The Consumer Federation of California ( http://www.consumercal.org ) endorsed Proposition 89 (the "Clean Money" Initiative), citing the increasingly corrosive role corporate campaign contributions play in shaping public policy - benefiting the narrow interests of big business to the detriment of consumers.

CFC's Executive Director Richard Holober stated, "All too often, consumer protection legislation is defeated in Sacramento by politicians who are beholden to the big business interests that bankroll their electoral campaigns. Proposition 89 would help reduce the influence of corporate campaign contributions on elected officials. It will help to decrease the use of the ballot initiative as a vehicle for big business to enact legislation, and help restore the initiative to its original purpose as an expression of the people's will."

The "Clean Money" system of public financing of elections is similar to those already adopted in Maine and Arizona. The proposed initiative would allow candidates who garner a substantial number of small contributions and agree not to accept PAC money, to receive full public financing of their campaign. States that have adopted the "Clean Money" system have seen lower overall campaign spending, candidates freed from around the clock fundraising, and increased voter turnout.

In supporting Prop 89, CFC cited two recent examples in which corporate contributions played a clear role in defeating consumer protection laws overwhelmingly supported by the public. In one such case, the telecommunication industry contributed in excess of $300,000 to the ten members of the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee (Source: CA Secretary of State Website). Despite the support of 87 percent of California voters, the committee killed telephone consumer protection legislation (SB 1068, AB 2622) that would have restored the right to cancel a new cell phone contract without being subjected to outrageous cancellation fees.

Similarly, during an 18-month period in 2001 and 2002, banks, insurers and other industry opponents of financial privacy legislation contributed $8.8 million to state politicians, resulting in the killing of SB 773 (Source: San Francisco Chronicle, September 7, 2002). Corporate contributions defeated financial privacy legislation that enjoyed the support of 90 percent of California voters.

The Consumer Federation of California is a nonprofit organization, established in 1960, that advocates for consumer protection laws and regulations.