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Common Cause New Mexico, one of the major advocates for ethics reform in our state, has vigorously urged the Secretary of State's office to investigate Block's alleged violations of the Voter Action Act, and our attention to this matter has received a considerable amount of press. Anyone, including Mario, who's interested in following Common Cause's activities in this regard should simply google "Common Cause" along with "Jerome Block".
Steven Robert Allen
Executive Director
Common Cause New Mexico
Dear Mr. Allen:
One argument that Common Cause and others continue to suggest in support of government/taxpayer funding of partisan candidates is that taxpayer funding results in "better candidates". I have always wondered about any sort of objective analysis of that argument. Are you aware of any political science on the issue?
Dear Mr. Rogers:
Actually, I'm not aware of Common Cause or our allies ever making the argument that public campaign financing leads to "better candidates." This justification isn't listed on the Common Cause website (www.commoncause.org) as one of the reasons for implementing such a system. As I see it, the single main reason why public campaign financing is helpful is because it eliminates the natural conflicts of interest inherent in a privately financed system. That is, elected officials won't be tempted to give special favors or access to their campaign contributors. Secondarily, such systems allow candidates to spend less time begging for money from donors and more time communicating with constituents.
Finally, public campaign financing also allows a wider variety of candidates to run (as opposed to just wealthy candidates or those connected to wealth and power).
Of course, public campaign financing isn't a silver bullet. It isn't going to solve every problem associated with modern American democracy. But for the reasons listed above, it does point us in the right direction. Regarding this specific matter, the allegations against Block are important, because this candidate seems to have violated the rules for using the system. To the extent that this is determined to be true, it's crucial that such candidates be severely punished for their conduct, as required under the provisions of the Voter Action Act.
Steven Robert Allen
Executive Director
Common Cause NM
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