Alison Smith works to reform campaign finance by using public funds
When Alison Smith was raising her kids聽in a small Connecticut town, a developer聽illegally drained the water from a large聽marsh adjoining her backyard.
鈥淕radually聽it dawned on me that he鈥檇 broken the聽wetland regulations. I went to a town meeting and waited聽for someone to say something. Nobody did. So I voiced my聽opinions聽as best I could, red-faced, hesitant, and embarrassed.听I found all these other people were thinking the same thing.鈥�
Shortly afterward, Smith joined the League of Women聽Voters, and began working on wetland and recycling issues,聽first in Connecticut and then in Maine. She became a more聽confident activist with experience, and by the time the league asked her to help get a campaign finance reform聽measure on the ballot, she jumped at the chance.听
鈥淲e鈥檝e become so used to being disgusted with elections聽and politicians,鈥� says Smith. 鈥淲e assume that almost anyone聽who gets in will be corrupt. I didn鈥檛 know whether the initiative聽would pass, but I didn鈥檛 want cynicism to rule my life.鈥澛�
The initiative offered a Clean Election Option, where聽candidates聽who pledged not to take private funding and who聽raised enough $5 contributions could receive public聽money to mount a competitive campaign.
Smith met with newspaper聽editorial boards and spoke wherever anyone would have聽her. 鈥淚 found that as an ordinary person聽I had more credibility聽than the political professionals. When people聽asked聽why I was involved, I鈥檇 repeat over and over how if we could聽just break the links between money and politics, we鈥檇 begin聽to have a solution.鈥澛�
The initiative passed with 56 percent of the vote and聽changed Maine鈥檚 politics. By 2010, 80 percent of the state鈥檚聽candidates were participating, and Vermont, Arizona, and聽Connecticut had launched similar programs.
Smith now聽works with a new generation of activists in Maine to defend,聽preserve, and strengthen Clean Elections.听
鈥淥ne of the great things,鈥� she says, 鈥渋s that these reforms聽require citizen participation. For 10 years, Maine people have聽made the system work, supporting Clean Election candidates聽with qualifying contributions of $5. Without the pressures聽of fundraising, candidates put a premium on voter contact.听
"Once elected, lawmakers know that their only debt is to the聽voters. Although our law has come under attack, Maine people聽always rise to defend their Clean Election system.
鈥淎s former US senator from Maine, Ed Muskie, once said,聽鈥楥ampaign finance reform is not for the short-winded.鈥� 鈥�
鈥� Paul Loeb聽wrote 蹿辞谤听, the Winter 2012 issue of . Paul is the author of .听
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