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For immediate release.
Jan. 19, 2010
Contact: Bryan Warner, N.C. Center for Voter Education, 877-258-6837

Center Praises Raleigh City Council for Support of Municipal Public Financing

RALEIGH – The N.C. Center for Voter Education applauds the Raleigh City Council for approving a resolution today in support of public campaign financing for municipal elections.  The resolution passed by a 7-1 vote.

A bill that passed the N.C. House last year and could be taken up by the N.C. Senate in 2010 (HB-120) would allow municipalities to establish public campaign financing for their local elections, under the guidance of the State Board of Elections.   The resolution approved by the Raleigh City Council signals support for such a model.

According to a March 2009 poll by the N.C. Center for Voter Education, 56 percent of North Carolina voters favor giving towns and cities the choice to offer public campaign financing in local elections.

“Public campaign financing has proven to work in reducing the influence of special interest money in several of our statewide races. North Carolina communities ought to have the power to decide for themselves if such a program would work for their local elections,” said Damon Circosta, executive director of the N.C. Center for Voter Education.  “By passing this resolution, the Raleigh City Council has clearly shown their support for making local elections less about money and more about the qualifications of candidates.”

In recent years, North Carolina has been a national leader in public campaign financing.

In 2002, North Carolina became the first state in the nation to establish a system of public campaign financing for judicial elections.  In the three election cycles in which the program has been available, a majority of appellate-court candidates has opted into the voluntary program.

In 2007, a pilot program of public campaign financing was created for three Council of States offices: state auditor, superintendent of public instruction and state insurance commissioner.

And in 2009, Chapel Hill became the first town in North Carolina to implement public financing for its local elections.

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The N.C. Center for Voter Education is a Raleigh-based nonprofit and nonpartisan organization, dedicated to helping citizens participate in their democracy.