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Ben Stuckart

We Need Your Feedback on Campaign Finance Reforms

Ben Stuckart, City Council President, 509.625.6269

Tuesday, October 31, 2017 at 4:22 p.m.

We Need Your Feedback on Campaign Finance Reforms

In Spokane, we have seen the campaign expenditures for Mayor, Council President, and Council rise significantly while the number of voters participating in elections continue to fall. It takes a higher percentage of household income for our citizens to make a maximum contribution to candidates than nearly any other city in Washington State. Accusations fly every campaign cycle that candidates and elected officials are influenced too much by City contractors and public sector unions who also happen to donate to their political campaigns. There is mistrust in government and this cycle of cynicism plays it out in our local elections.

Councilmember Beggs and I have put together a package of campaign finance reforms intended to address the following:

  1. The perception of corruption in our elections and local government
  2. The increasing dependence by candidates on large donors and their subsequent influence
  3. The difficulty of determining true sponsors of independent expenditures
  4. The dark money that is beginning to plague our local elections

We plan to bring forward a set of campaign finance reforms in December. But first, we want your feedback on this ordinance! What are we missing? And what else can we do locally to help end the cycle of cynicism in government? What can we do to increase transparency in campaign communications? What can we do to increase participation in local elections? Spokane citizens deserve an electoral system that values their participation and a government that is accountable to them. You are part of that solution!

Send your thoughts to Adam McDaniel my Senior Executive Assistant, amcdaniel@spokanecity.org!

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