WXXI: Senate Puts Brakes on Campaign Finance Reform (2007-06-12)

The New York State Senate has begun a series of public forums about campaign finance reform, with just over a week left to go in the legislative session. Freshman Senator Joseph Griffo, who Chairs the Elections Committee, says the forums will continue into the summer and fall, but he denies that it's a delaying tactic to put off a vote on campaign finance reform by the end of session on June 21st. Griffo says Senators simply want more information.

"We have an opportunity now to elevate this discourse," Griffo said. "Without everybody's subjective opinions."

Governor Eliot Spitzer, since the first day of his administration, has been pressing lawmakers for campaign finance reform. Supporters of Spitzer's efforts say the announcement of the hearings by the Senate Republicans, coming just over a week before the legislative session is scheduled to end, will have the effect of killing any agreement on the issue for another year.

"This is as transparent a stonewalling effort as I think I've ever seen," said Senator Eric Schneiderman, a minority party Democrat on the committee.

While the cramped committee room was packed with reform lobbyists and legislative staff, few Senators showed up at the meeting. The three Republicans that did heard a scholarly presentation by political scientist Michael Malbin, with the Campaign Finance Institute at George Washington University. Malbin highlighted research into the pros and cons of limiting campaign donations, and the public financing of campaigns.

Rachel Leon, with Common Cause, a backer of campaign finance reform, says its great to hear all the facts. But she points out that Senators could have begun have educating themselves on the topic as early as last November, when Spitzer won election as governor.

"The question is, what's the motive here?" said Leon.

Barbara Bartoletti, with the League of Women Voters, says the Senate does not need any more input to know that the public wants changes to curb the influence of special interest money. She says people have made the connection between what she says are out-of-control campaign contributions and poor health care, high property taxes, and a broken education system.

"You can link it to everything, practically, to climate control," said Bartoletti.

There are some other "links" between campaign financing and other issues. It's an Albany tradition to tie important issues to other key topics, and it's believed that, behind the scenes, campaign finance reform has been linked to a pay raise for state lawmakers, who have not seen their salaries increased in eight years. The legislative pay raise has been connected, in a bill passed by the Senate, to judicial pay raises. The State's judges are angry that their salaries have remained stagnant. Senator Schneiderman says the Republican Senators' hearings may imperil the pay raise legislation, as well.

"Call the judges and give them the bad news," he said.

Governor Spitzer has not pressed publicly for his campaign finance reform bill in recent weeks. Nevertheless, serious talks between the governor's and legislative staffs are going on, and Spitzer says he hasn't given up on an agreement.

"I am still hopeful," Spitzer said.

Spitzer denies that legislative pay raises are linked to his proposal, but he does say he won't consider salary increases for lawmakers until they make significant changes to government's structure.