Washblog || Challenge to Chris Vance to support public campaign financing

Challenge to Chris Vance to support public campaign financing

By Sarajane46th
Fri Aug 24, 2007 at 04:08:05 PM PST
Section: Diary Topic: Campaign Finance

[Chris Vance is former Chair of Washington's Republican Party. Previously, Dwight Pelz, urged Dem legislators to consider supporting clean campaign legislation.]

Over at Crosscut Seattle, Chris Vance criticizes KUOW-FM for flagging Port Commission challenger Bill Bryant as a Republican. Is Chris Vance is being too modest? or forgetful? We all know that the grand Republican strategy since the Reagan era has been to start small, to run conservatives for local, often non-partisan offices, while grooming them for higher office. Therefore, identifying them by the party affiliation is simply news. Since we don't register as Rs or Ds here, this is not on the public record and has to be deduced--all the more reason for reporters to do it.

I have previously challenged Chris Vance, to advise his party to support public campaign financing. Most of the office holders and candidates for non-partisan races, including Port Commissioner John Creighton, support it. It would make it easier to rebuild the Republic bench, and would make it easier to find strong candidates, without the very first coffee-shop recruitment conversation being, "You mean I have to raise how many thousands of dollars?"

Unfortunately, all but one Republican state legislator (Fred Jarrett, 41st, Mercer Island) are opposed to public campaign financing. It doesn't make sense and isn't in their best interest. Both Maine and Arizona legislatures have optional public campaign financing, and both Republicans and Democrats are pleased with the results. Statistically, it doesn't particularly benefit incumbents.

Let's start by getting the state legislature to reverse the law prohibiting local and county elections to be run without having to raise big money. Then a story such as David Brewsters' and Knute Berger's primary campaign funding piece at Crosscut Seattle would have no reason to be written. A candidate who chooses to abstain from fundraising, and who survives the primary, would receive a set amount adequate to get the word out in the general election, in that jurisdiction. If both candidates chose to "run clean," then we wouldn't be handicapping candidates by the funds they raised, but by who actually connected with voters.

Game on!

< Progressive Presidential Preference and Promotion Caucus | King County wants to steal the elections. >

Challenge to Chris Vance to support public campaign financing | 6 comments (6 topical)

Bryant's partisan: Clean campaigns are not

If someone has given $25,000 to Republicans and nothing to Democrats in recent years, I'd say that person is a Republican.... Port candidate: $25,000 to GOP, $0 to Dems...but he's not partisan. So I think it's safe to say that Bryant is at least a partisan person leaning toward the Republican side of things. But he hasn't been very honest about that Why not?

Maybe, with public financing, enough new blood would come into the state GOP party to reform it -- and Republican candidates running for nonpartisan offices would no longer be afraid to admit they were Republican.

Publicly funded campaigns favor no Party. Experience shows that they do open up the process to more diversity --including to third party groups and to more diverse people in terms of ethnic/race background and income. In Washington state, where Republicans have lost considerable 'market share' recently, you'd think they'd look very closely at public financing. I can't imagine anything better for the faltering Washington State Republican Party, which seems to be running on anger, grudge and anti-government sentiment right now, to open up campaigns to a wider range of people -- and therefore ideas.

Dwight Pelz, the chair of Washington's Democratic Party has expressed support for publicly financed campaigns. It's time for Chris Vance to look at this seriously.

by noemie maxwell on Fri Aug 24, 2007 at 04:47:03 PM PST

* 1 none 0 *

Vance is the FORMER chair of the WA GOP

They fired him and replaced him with Luke Esser.

If perception is reality, then the world must be flat and the sun must revolve around it.

by ivan on Fri Aug 24, 2007 at 09:11:48 PM PST

* 2 none 0 *

Esser, doesn't he do like outreach by noemie maxwell, 08/25/2007 07:45:58 AM PST (none / 0)

not to quibble

With the author and previous two commenters, but Vance resigned mid-term, at the end of 2005/beginning of 2006, within weeks of the same time as Paul Berendt resigned mid-term.

Diane Tebelius replaced him, and was up for a full term in January 2007. She lost her reelection bid to Esser.

by raincityman on Fri Aug 24, 2007 at 09:39:57 PM PST

* 3 none 0 *

Right. I stand corrected by ivan, 08/25/2007 07:27:16 AM PST (none / 0)

Underdog

In Washington State, I'd expect the GOP to champion public campaign financing. The state GOP is in shambles. Their rank and file is demoralized. The candidates have to run away from Bush/Rove/etc.

It's typically the role of the minority party to champion any and all measures which could cut into the status quo majority party.

---

As I said to you two weeks ago, I'm really, really impressed with the traction Washington Public Campaigns has gotten in the last year. Pelz's endorsement is huge.

Our Democratic leaders may yet prove to be election reformist. Without pressure from the right. That'd be pretty amazing.

by zappini on Mon Aug 27, 2007 at 10:03:57 AM PST

* 6 none 0 *

Challenge to Chris Vance to support public campaign financing | 6 comments (6 topical)

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