N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory, Budget Director Art Pope Aim To End Judicial Public Financing Program
By Paul Blumenthal, news article
In early 2011, after Republicans swept into power in both
houses of the North Carolina state legislature, the
conservative John Locke Foundation put out a list of 11
action items for the new conservative majority in the state
capitol to enact in their first 100 days. One of those
priorities was the ending of the judicial public financing
system enacted in 2002.
In 2002, North Carolina became the first state to adopt
judicial public financing. The opt-in system works by
requiring candidates to raise $39,450 from 350 donors in
increments between $10 and $500 to qualify. Once candidates
have raised this amount of money, they can access funds
provided by a special account run by the state so long as
they cease other private fundraising.
Contentious arguments ensued in the legislature as the
elimination of the program was proposed as an amendment to
the annual budget and as a separate piece of legislation,
but was never enacted.
Now, with the newly elected Republican Gov. Pat McCrory,
the program is being targeted again. The governor's first
budget proposal, released in March, includes the
elimination the judicial public financing program. The
governor's office did not respond to an immediate request
for comment.
"We think it's very unfortunate that the governor and the
legislature are considering doing away with the program,"
said Alicia Bannon, counsel for the Brennan Center for
Justice, a supporter of public financing of elections.
Bannon also noted that a number of bills have been
introduced in the legislature to eliminate the program.
The inclusion of this provision is raising quite a few
eyebrows across the state, as the governor's budget
director is retail magnate Art Pope -- who also happens to
be the largest political donor in North Carolina.
"Most of the attacks [against judicial public financing]
were really coming from one source, and that's the
political network that's largely funded by Art Pope in
North Carolina," Chris Kromm, Director at the Institute for
Southern Studies, a liberal non-profit in North Carolina,
alleged.
These groups included the John Locke Foundation, the
Civitas Institute and Americans for Prosperity. A 2006
report by the Foundation stated that the public financing
program limited free speech and reduced the amount of
information available for voters. It also stated that
fundraising is "an integral part of the democratic process"
because it measures a candidate's support prior to the
election.
"Polls show that the public supports this program, and
every candidate in judicial races in the last election
entered into the system," Melissa Price Kromm, coalition
director of North Carolina Voters for Clean Elections,
argued. "Why should the program be cut?"
The program's budget is approximately $4 million for the
2013-2014 election and is funded primarily by an annual $50
fee to attorneys in the state bar and a $3 voluntary
contribution that North Carolina citizens can choose to
make on their tax returns. Eliminating the program would
likely save the state little money -- the governor's
proposed budget exceeds $49 billion -- or allow the $4
million currently allocated to the program to be spent on
other projects. Rather, eliminating the public financing
option would likely end the revenue stream entirely.
If the program is eliminated, supporters say that business
interests and attorneys arguing cases before judges will
become the primary campaign contributors. One study shows
that in 2002, the last election held without a public
financing option, 73 percent of all judicial contributions
came from special interests and attorneys. After the public
financing system was adopted, that number dropped to 14
percent.
Pope, if previous contributions are any guide, should be
expected to be among those donors putting big money into
judicial elections if the public financing system is
eliminated.
In the 2012 election, Pope and the constellation of groups
he funds put hundreds of thousands of dollars into an
independent effort to aid State Supreme Court Justice Paul
Newby's reelection campaign against Democratic candidate
Sam Ervin. Outside groups partially funded by Pope, freed
from spending restraints by the 2010 Citizens United
decision by the Supreme Court, spent more than $2 million
to help Newby to a 4-point victory and maintain the 4-3
conservative majority on the court.
Other groups spending big on the independent campaign to
reelect Newby included RJ Reynolds Tobacco, groups seeking
limits on medical lawsuit claims and those promoting school
privatization.
That conservative court majority is vitally important for
these business interests, and also for Republicans and
conservative activists in the state. After the 2010
redistricting, the court's conservative tilt was a key
interest for North Carolina Republicans, as it will be the
final arbiter on redistricting plans that helped to create
a friendlier map for Republicans across the state after the
2010 elections.
North Carolina is currently one of just two states -- the
other being New Mexico -- to implement a full judicial
public financing program. Wisconsin had a public financing
system for judicial elections until conservatives repealed
it in 2011. West Virginia currently operates a pilot
program for public financing of judicial elections. Unlike
North Carolina and Wisconsin, however, legislators in West
Virginia are working on enacting a permanent judicial
public financing program. A bill to do so passed the West
Virginia House on April 3.
See the article on Huffington Post website