Greensboro Neighborhood Congress supports publicly financed elections

The Greensboro Neighborhood Congress passed a resolution today supporting "the concept of local governments being permitted to develop public financing of local elections in a manner that will help empower neighborhoods."

A representative of Common Cause of North Carolina spoke in favor of public financing of elections, while a representative of the John Locke Foundation took the opposing view against what she called "taxpayer-funded elections" during the public portion of the congress' meeting.

Although she did not attend, a letter from NC Rep. Pricey Harrison was distributed during the meeting.

The letter reads, in part: "As you all are well aware, campaigns at the local level have become increasingly expensive over the last decade. This undermines the democratic process by preventing good people from considering a run for public office. It also encourages candidates to gather donations from wealthy contributors, rather than soliciting support from the public at large. Unsurprisingly, industries that oppose pro-neighborhood policies, such as homebuilders, are the most dominant donors at the local level.

"By voicing your support for HB 120, you can earn Greensboro the right to consider a crucial reform option, one that could make a fundamental difference in how our democracy works. Voter-owned elections make the democratic process accessible to all who are willing to work hard, regardless of their personal wealth or connections. They bolster competition and turnout. And they improve your relationship with your elected leadership. Importantly, other cities with voter-owned elections systems have been able to implement the program without resorting to a tax increase. VOE represents a tiny fraction of cities' budget[s], comparable to what the city of Greensboro spends on its public access TV channel. It's one of the few ideas I've seen that has a big impact and a little price tag."

A handful of city council candidates attended the meeting.

Danny Thompson, who is running at large, expressed opposition to the measure, arguing that if only 6 or 7 percent of voters check off a box on their state income tax return agreeing to contribute to a public financing fund for elections, that indicates that the remainder do not want their tax money to support candidates not of their choosing.

Nancy Vaughan, also an at-large candidate, said she hadn't made up her mind about the legislation, "but I do think this is an Incumbency Protection Act."