New York is on the cusp of adopting a campaign finance reform that would amplify small donations with matching funds, reducing the power of big special interest money over the state's politics. It would also allow New Yorkers to claim the mantle of the first state to take back their democracy in the era of Citizens United and unprecedented campaign spending.
But adopting Fair Elections would accomplish something else badly needed in our democracy: more diverse representation in our political leadership.
New voices are desperately needed in our democracy. The general public is far more diverse in gender and race than our elected officials. Remarkably, women comprise only 24 percent of state legislative bodies on average. Not only do women and Americans of color make up less of our leadership, they are also much less likely to be among the wealthy donor class whose political spending increasingly influences our politics since Citizens United.
In state after state — as well as in New York City — small donor matching systems have brought more women and people of color into our political systems. Six states have small donor matching, five of which have a higher percentage of women represented than the national average. And as far as milestones go, the first governor ever elected under a full public financing system was a woman: Janet Napolitano of Arizona.
Demos' research further shows how public financing can be the first step in restoring our democracy to one for the people, by the people. In our report, we looked at Connecticut's experience with public financing (http://tinyurl.com/cdthw3l). Since 2008, the state has empowered small donors, and policy makers there say it's a brand new day in their statehouse. Lobbyists are less powerful, and the needs of working- and middle-class voters became priorities again: the post-reform legislature passed the country's first statewide paid sick leave and an increase in the state's minimum wage.
Now it's time for New York to reclaim democracy for all of its people. While women comprise over half of the state's population, they hold only a fifth of our state's legislative seats.
The proposal before the state now is not a novel idea. It is modeled after New York City's matching program, which has proven over time not only to successfully increase the number of small donors, but also to bring more people of color and leaders from working-class backgrounds into our political system. New York City's robust system has already elevated inspiring women of color, like the new City Council Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito and Public Advocate Letitia James.
The proposed reform in New York state would match every $1 contributed by a small donor (someone giving less than $175) by $6. Under the program, a $10 contribution becomes $70, elevating people often left out of our political process because they can't write the big checks. The reform also changes the fundraising dynamic and allows candidates to pay more attention to small donors, instead of being overly dependent on big donors who are unrepresentative of their constituents. The Fair Elections proposal Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposed budget should not be stripped away in budget negotiations.
When women and people of color see people elected leadership from their own backgrounds, they are likely to become more politically engaged and empowered. Declining public trust among the millennial generation is driven in no small part by the fact that, as the most diverse generation in American history, they're underrepresented in public life. Public financing can be the first step to restoring this trust.
Heather McGhee is president of Demos, a progressive think tank in New York City.
