[EL] The perverse effects of public funding of election

[Bill Maurer]

Oh, I completely agree that he shouldn't receive any matching funds for those who were straw donors-don't get me wrong, I'm not shedding any tears for Liu and I think he tried to game the system (all the more ironic given that he was a regular proponent of stricter and stricter campaign finance laws).  However, for those who were not straw donors, my original point still stands.  I'm hesitant to laud a government agency that "sends a message" that might determine the outcome of an election.

From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Mark Schmitt
Sent: Tuesday, August 06, 2013 3:23 PM
To: law-election at uci.edu
Subject: Re: [EL] The perverse effects of public funding of election

"it seems to me that people gave the money to him in the expectation that there would be matching funds and denying him those funds interferes with the donors' expectations on how the system would operate."
But all evidence is that most of the people you refer to were "straw donors" -- meaning that they either didn't give money to Liu  and their names were used, or they were reimbursed. The larger donors whose funds were essentially laundered through the straw donors had no reasonable expectation that their funds were eligible to be matched, absent this blatant fraud.
Liu is a serial offender. This is the nature of his political operation. If he did the same thing as a federal candidate, he would face a heavy fine. In NYC, the penalty is losing matching funds.
It should give one more confidence that small-donor public financing can work to know that an agency can act, quickly and decisively, to prevent the possible abuse of the system.

Mark Schmitt
Senior Fellow, The Roosevelt Institute<http://www.rooseveltinstitute.org/>
202/246-2350
gchat or Skype: schmitt.mark
twitter: mschmitt9

On Tue, Aug 6, 2013 at 12:26 PM, Bill Maurer <wmaurer at ij.org<mailto:wmaurer at ij.org>> wrote:
Well, I wouldn't say his entire adult life-he apparently has a hobby he regularly enjoys.

The New York Post today actually has an editorial today about a much more serious problem than Anthony Weiner staying in the race and that is John Liu perhaps being forced out because the Board has denied him matching funds due to any number of hijinks and shenanigans associated with campaign.  I don't know the specifics of denying people matching funds under New York's system, but it seems to me that people gave the money to him in the expectation that there would be matching funds and denying him those funds interferes with the donors' expectations on how the system would operate.  I find it somewhat disturbing that a government agency can essentially determine to put Liu's campaign on life support on its own accord.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/editorials/the_candidate_killers_CM2FFHqhtGK6TrIeSTyBAM

From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu<mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu> [mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu<mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu>] On Behalf Of Margaret Groarke
Sent: Tuesday, August 06, 2013 8:54 AM
To: JBoppjr at aol.com<mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com>
Cc: law-election at uci.edu<mailto:law-election at uci.edu>; Rick.Hasen at lls.edu<mailto:Rick.Hasen at lls.edu>
Subject: Re: [EL] The perverse effects of public funding of election


Of course, the fact that he has $5 million in the bank -- not public money -- to spend on this race, doesn't encourage him to quit either. Or his personality, or the fact that he's been doing really well in the polls until quite recently, or the fact that quitting would require him to entirely rethink what he has spent his entire adult life doing . . .

On Tue, Aug 6, 2013 at 7:58 AM, <JBoppjr at aol.com<mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com>> wrote:
Click here: Pundits ask: Why won't Weiner just leave NYC race? - Worcester Telegram & Gazette - telegram.com<http://www.telegram.com/article/20130804/NEWS/308049695/1052>

Easy answer, public funding.  Jim Bopp

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Margaret Groarke
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