The state motto of Maine is dirigo, Latin for “I lead.” There are many things Maine is the national leader in — lobster harvest, low-bush blueberry production, and quite possibly, breathtaking scenery and natural beauty.
Not content with leadership in these areas, however, the Dirigo State seems ready to lead the way in showing the folly of so-called clean elections, by giving a glimpse of what can be expected at the national level if the Fair Elections Now Act (FENA) is passed. Mainly, a program that benefits incumbents and political insiders and with no noticeable benefit to the public.
According to the Sun-Journal in Lewiston, Maine has recently raised the qualifying standards in their ‘clean elections’ program in order to receive funds to run for Governor.
From the story:
Recent changes to the state’s public campaign financing laws are a mixed blessing, according to candidates trying to participate in the system.
Since the last gubernatorial campaign in 2006, the Legislature has made changes to the Maine Clean Election Act that make it more difficult to qualify but more rewarding for those who do.
Candidates seeking to run on the taxpayers’ dime are required to collect at least $40,000 in seed money from Maine donors, with individual donations capped at $100; previously, raising seed money was allowed but not required for candidates. They also must collect $5 donations from 3,250 individual donors, up from 2,500 in the previous gubernatorial cycle…
“The changes directly addressed some of the most-often-heard complaints about the system – that it was too easy to qualify…” said Alison Smith, co-chairwoman of Maine Citizens for Clean Elections…
Seven of the 16 candidates who have officially filed papers to run for governor have declared their intent to run under the public financing system.
State Sen. Peter Mills, R-Cornville, ran as a clean election candidate during the 2006 gubernatorial race, losing to another publicly-financed candidate in the primary. He is running again in 2010, hoping to qualify for the public funds.
“The raising of the number of the $5 checks from 2,500 to 3,250 is nothing to sneeze at,” he said, adding that last time around he collected about 2,800. “I am a little disappointed they raised the number of the $5 checks. The 3,250, at some level it’s not really a test of broad-based support, it’s a test of your ability to stay organized and hassle people.”
Mills said he thought only he and Senate President Libby Mitchell, D-Vassalboro, who also declared her intent to run as a clean election candidate, would be capable of meeting the new requirements.
So, to summarize — troubled by what they apparently viewed as too many Mainers taking advantage of what the FENA legislation might call the “genuine opportunity for [citizens] to run” for governor under “clean elections,” Maine’s legislature hiked the requirements to ensure that those without pre-existing networks of donors and political connections face a much, much more difficult time qualifying.
The comments of Senator Mills are especially illuminating — himself a supporter of the “clean elections” concept, and an experienced candidate and politician in his own right, Mills understands fully what these higher standards are all about — keeping the rabble from accessing taxpayer dollars that are meant for the campaign coffers of political insiders.
This, of course, was one of the main points of CCP’s recently released analysis of the Fair Elections Now Act, that the high qualifying standards combined with the short qualifying period would in most cases prevent all but incumbents, celebrity candidates, and the politically-connected with support from well-organized interest groups from being able to participate.
Mills predicts that only he and the Senate President will be able to qualify, two candidates who would presumably be able to raise private funds with little difficulty. The other five candidates seeking “clean elections” funding are a mixed lot, judging from their campaign web sites — one is a former small-town mayor active in the community, one is the former chair of the state Green Party, and the other 3 have backgrounds that don’t really suggest they are connected enough to raise anything close to what is needed to qualify.
If Mills is correct, that only he and the Senate President are able to qualify under the new, higher standards, it should send a signal not just to Maine but also to Congress about what these programs are really about — distributing taxpayer dollars to the campaign coffers of incumbents and insiders, laughing all the way to election day about those silly non-connected outsiders and challengers that thought the program was for them, too.
