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House panel OKs bill to end matching funds, increase disbursements
A lawsuit filed last year that targets a key element of Arizona's system of publicly funded political campaigns has yet produce a definitive conclusion in the court of law, but the litigation already has lawmakers scrambling to create a stable foundation for the 2010 election cycle.
Opponents say Clean Elections impedes free speech; supporters say it levels campaign field
For 10 years, foes of Arizona’s publicly funded campaigns have fought a losing battle to destroy the political system they credit for burdening free speech rights and interfering with the natural selection of legislative and statewide elected officials.
Senate panel OKs measure that would permit voters to end Clean Elections
In 2010, Arizona voters could be asked to separate political candidates from public campaign funds. But elected lawmakers at this point have no intention of pulling the plug themselves on the lucrative funding stream that pays for publicly funded campaigns.
Clean Elections system represents democracy at work
Arizona voters adopted the Clean Elections system of funding elections to increase public participation in government in a number of ways — to increase the number of candidates running for office, to increase the number of citizens involved in campaigns and to increase discussion of the issues.
Voters might have last word in Clean Elections
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted June 15 to advance a measure that would allow voters to decide the fate of Arizona's system of publicly funded campaigns known as Clean Elections.
Two-way attack waged on Clean Elections matching funds
While attorneys prepare for a summer showdown over the constitutionality of a segment of Arizona's system of public campaign financing, a committee of legislators will decide whether to give voters the opportunity to ban publicly funded campaigns entirely.
Clean Elections needs to be strengthened, improved
On June 5, the Arizona Capitol Times published a letter entitled “Why Clean Elections needs to end now.” The League of Women Voters of Arizona, which was instrumental in writing and achieving the passage of the Clean Elections law and which remains a major supporter of the system, takes issue with opposition to that law. Clean Elections is neither un-American nor unconstitutional.
Why Clean Elections needs to end now
I have been opposed to the idea of taxpayer-funded campaigns ever since Arizona’s so-called “Clean Elections” plan was first proposed. It is simply un-American that the government decides who gets money for political speech and that the funds come from hardworking taxpayers who may or may not support the views expressed.
