Sen. Peter Wirth (D- Santa Fe) yesterday pre-filed legislation to fix New Mexico’s Voter Action Act, which currently allows candidates for election to the Public Regulation Commission, Court of Appeals and NM Supreme Court to utilize public funding. It is Senate Bill 58.
Wirth said the “fix” to public financing was needed because of a 2011 court decision striking down a part of the original bill and this year’s misuse of the system by candidates for the PRC.
“I’ve really been encouraged by the way candidates for the Court of Appeals, both Democrat and Republican, used the system the way it was intended,” said Wirth, who introduced a version of the same bill in 2013. He said both Miles Hanisee and Kerry Kiernan used the system in the court race, and then came to him to discuss needed changes. On the other hand, Wirth said he was not happy with the improper use of taxpayers’ money by some PRC candidates who faced no opposition or used it to pay family members.
Wirth’s Senate Bill 58 will address both problems, forbidding candidates who are un-opposed from collecting funds, and the use of campaign funds for living expenses or compensation to the candidate or candidate’s family.
Senate Bill 58 also addresses the glitch in matching funds.
New Mexico’s current law gives additional matching funds to publicly financed candidates when they are faced with a privately financed candidate who is outspending them. But that provision of the law was struck down in 2011. Wirth’s bill addresses the potential funding disparity by allowing participating candidates to accept small contributions of $100 or less when outspent. The contributions would be matched with additional public funds so the race would remain competitive.
“In an age of dark money and relaxed campaign finance rules, a good public financing system is more important than ever,” Wirth said.
The legislation, which enjoyed unprecedented bipartisan support in 2013 (the House passed it unanimously), is supported by Common Cause New Mexico.
“Public campaign financing – done right – is the best way to give influence back to everyday New Mexicans and give elected leaders the opportunity to put down the phone and focus on what really matters, our economy and our children’s future,” said Viki Harrison, Executive Director of Common Cause New Mexico.
Harrison noted that public financing systems are working in Albuquerque and Santa Fe to enable a more diverse set of candidates to run for office and be accountable to their constituents rather than to their largest campaign contributors.
“This fix will help ordinary New Mexicans who often feel that their voices are downed out by large contributors,” she said.
Common Cause New Mexico is a non-partisan organization dedicated to restoring the core values of American democracy, reinventing an open, honest, and accountable government that works for the public interest. It is the convener of the New Mexican Pledge campaign (newmexicopledge.org), which incorporates businesses and ordinary New Mexicans feeling the personal impact of the current system.