This article originally provided by The Daily Mail

February 3, 2005

This state deserves clean, fair elections

By Rev. Dennis D. Sparks

The West Virginia Council of Churches has chosen reform of financing elections for state and legislative offices in West Virginia as its first public policy priority for 2005.

Faced with many monumental decisions, it is imperative that our government decision-makers be free from powerful and wealthy special-interest contributors that increasingly dominate elections and legislative decisions and in turn continue the spread of citizen alienation from democratic government.

The Legislature, during its interim meetings since April 2004, has studied how to make elections fair and clean in West Virginia.

Members of the interim committee on campaign finance reform are to be commended for their bipartisan efforts. Their objective is to benefit neither liberals nor conservatives, neither Republicans nor Democrats, but to bring about better government through fairness and accessibility for all West Virginians.

The proposed reform focuses on public financing of elections, freeing our Legislature to be informed, to listen to their voter constituencies, and to search their own consciences. Public financing will help restore citizen confidence in government decision-making.

The campaign finance reform committee has considered legislation to make statewide and legislative elections comply with the federal Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, or McCain-Feingold law, which prohibits the use of "soft money" in election-related communications.

This is an important effort to undertake.

The McCain-Feingold ban on unlimited "soft money" donations going to the national parties has spurred the advent of new vehicles for special-interest money like "And for the Sake of the Kids" and "West Virginia Consumers for Justice," which both spent millions of dollars in an effort to influence the outcome of West Virginia's Supreme Court race.

These new vehicles are referred to as 527 organizations because of their designation in the federal tax code that exempts them from other campaign restrictions, including many reporting requirements. Because West Virginia has no legislation covering 527s, there are no reporting requirements nor contribution limits for state races.

The legislation considered by the interim committee on campaign finance reform would prohibit corporations from financing "issue ads" that target candidates shortly before a state election. The legislation also would require significant levels of disclosure from the sponsors of electioneering communications that name a candidate but have previously escaped regulation by stopping short of expressly advocating the candidate's election or defeat.

This legislation would also limit contributions to 527 groups that attempt to influence the outcome of statewide or legislative races to $2,000 during any two-year election cycle. West Virginia already has limits on contributions to candidate committees, political action committees and state party committees.

The legislation would also boost the state's longstanding tradition of keeping corporate money out of elections, but it won't stop all of the ways special interests influence who wins or even who can run.

Under the draft bill, "issue ads" that degrade a candidate's character without calling specifically for the candidate's defeat could continue; the contributions paying for them would just need to be disclosed to the secretary of state.

Because there are so many ways for special interests to influence our elections, efforts such as this should be applauded, but it is also imperative to create incentives and alternative sources of "clean" or "voter-owned" campaign funds for candidates who voluntarily reject special-interest money altogether.

The interim committee has considered a pilot project to provide full public financing to legislative candidates who agree to limit their spending and reject all private donations. This voluntary system is modeled after laws in Maine and Arizona, where it is now the political norm to run for office free of direct dependence on private campaign contributions.

These proposals would protect our democratic process from the undue influence of special interests and help candidates and those who want to be involved in politics to have a level playing field. We hope the proposed legislation will receive serious consideration by the Legislature during its upcoming session.

Based on concern for the dignity and well being of all God's children and creation, the West Virginia Council of Churches promotes a Christian witness on public policy issues and supports the reform of financing of elections for state and legislative offices.

Specifically, the council supports the "Pilot Project for Campaign Financing" that will be before the 2005 Legislature, as well as stricter accountability for campaign finances. Initiating such election reform in West Virginia is what I would call a freedom bill.

Sparks is executive director of the West Virginia Council of Churches.