Mucking up state campaign finance in budget would be disgraceful

The law creating the nationally lauded NYS public campaign finance program was adopted after months of public review and debate, including at least a dozen public forums across the state at which hundreds of people participated. 

We hope that today’s reports in Newsday are incorrect. It would be a truly dismal example of Albany at its worst if the Governor, Senate and Assembly are in murky backrooms trying to game and distort a law that gives New York voters more choice by making elections fairer and more competitive. 

Healthy democracies do not do this. Any legislators who think they are better than the guy in Washington should not be secretly undermining a law passed in the brightest sunlight of public debate. If the Governor, Senate and Assembly truly want New York State to be a bastion of democracy and responsive government, they will not try to change the public campaign finance program in secret and slip it into the budget.