Filing period for elective office begins today in Orange County, and in Chapel Hill there’s something new and misguided. Chapel Hill is the first municipality to impose public financing on its citizens. In other words, proud progressives who dominate the scene will now find their tax dollars being used to help elect candidates they oppose. The reverse is true as well. From the Herald-Sun:
To become eligible for public financing, candidates running for council must collect qualifying contributions of at least $750 from at least 75 donors. Mayoral candidates must raise $1,500 from at least 150 contributors.
Candidates who participate in the program may raise no more than $2,250 in qualifying contributions for those seeking council seats and $4,500 for those running for mayor.
In return, participating council candidates would receive as much as $3,000 in public grant money from the town. Mayoral candidates could get as much as $9,000.
The public grants would be reduced for candidates who raised more than the agreed upon limits in qualifying contributions.
There are many reasons to oppose this misuse of public dollars. JLF’s Daren Bakst discusses North Carolina’s program here.
Bradley Smith, chairman of the Center for Competitive Politics and former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, explains the dangerous attraction of taxpayer-financed elections in this interview.
