State Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos' May 13 Perspective article, "A recipe for political corruption") brings together all opponents' attacks on public campaign financing, no matter how they stretch the truth. His claims are easily debunked.
First, Skelos argues that "real world job creators" oppose reform. In fact, 72 percent of New York business leaders support campaign finance reform including small donor public financing.
These leaders know campaign finance reform will create greater participation, more competition, and reduce the influence of special interest money.
Second, despite a carefully reasoned estimate by the nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute showing a cost of $26 to $41 million per year, Skelos incredibly claims that public funding will cost $286 million next year. Just last month, his own Republican conference touted an estimate less than half that amount, itself based on wildly unrealistic assumptions that have been debunked.
Third, Skelos says public financing has "been a recipe for more corruption." Since passing reform, New York City has seen nothing like the cancerous corruption crisis of the 1980s.
In Connecticut, the four years after implementing a public funding system had the lowest number of federal corruption convictions on record. In the last four years, the Senate saw four of its leaders, and 10 senators overall, charged or convicted of corruption. This includes Democrats and Republicans in a chamber with 63 members!
Some in Albany oppose reform because they've made the current system work for them. We need change to make the system work for the rest of us.
Ian Vandewalker is counsel to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.