Fiscal Note
Adoption of this resolution has no direct fiscal impact except for the reallocation of available staff time to support the functioning of the study committee. Any costs associated with implementation of committee recommendations would require separate budgetary authorization in the future.
Title
AMENDED SECOND SUBSTITUTE - Supporting the investigation of full public financing of municipal elections for alderperson, mayor, and municipal judge and establishing a "Blue Ribbon Committee on Clean Elections" to study and issue recommendations related to the specifics of a clean elections ordinance.
Body
WHEREAS the functioning of a democracy requires that the interests of people outweigh the interests of money; and
WHEREAS campaign finance reform helps to ensure that voters retain trust in the electoral process by removing the corrosive influence of campaign donations; and
WHEREAS clean elections with full public financing is the best practice to guarantee that the public interest prevails over special interests; and
WHEREAS clean elections have been shown to increase the participation and viability of challengers to incumbents, and increase the number of candidacies of women, people of color, and those who are not independently wealthy; and
WHEREAS clean elections allow candidates to spend less time chasing contributions and more time talking with voters about issues of substance, as well as allowing elected officials to consider the merits of a proposal with only constituents in mind and not donors; and
WHEREAS cities and states across the country are moving toward voluntary clean elections and Madison voters have consistently expressed enthusiasm for campaign finance reform;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Common Council of the City of Madison does hereby wish to investigate full public financing of municipal elections for alderperson, mayor, and municipal judge; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a Blue Ribbon Committee on Clean Elections be established with five seven citizens with a demonstrated interest and expertise in election financing members, including at least one representative each of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Common Cause in Wisconsin, the League of Women Voters of Dane County, and two citizens at large, to be appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Council; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Committee endeavor to study and issue recommendations related to the specifics of a clean elections ordinance, including but not limited to the appropriate voluntary spending limit for campaigns of each type, the eligibility threshold for qualifying for public funds, the financing mechanisms and sources, and the legal requirements for establishing such a policy; and
BE IT FINALLY FURTHER RESOLVED that the Committee will report back with its findings within 180 days of adoption of this resolution its first meeting.
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that if the Dane County Board of Supervisors does adopt a companion resolution signed by the County Executive, that the Blue Ribbon Committee on Clean Elections work jointly with a companion county committee created by the county process. shall be a joint city-county committee, with appointments to be made jointly by the Mayor and County Executive with approval from both the Common Council and Dane County Board of Supervisors, with one of the two at-large citizen appointments to be from outside the City of Madison.