Yes, we have a problem,

And it's called Special Interest ... outtacontrol

In the recent 2006 election for seats in the state legislature, candidates raised more than $20 million during the campaign. Had 2006 been a year where statewide offices such as governor, attorney general, secretary of state and the like been contested the amount raised and spent could easily have doubled. In my legislative district, the 43rd, the candidates for one House seat were able to raise $687,000. This obscene amount represents about fifteen dollars for each voter in the district.

One great solution for this would be publicly financed campaigns.

Washington has never had publicly funded election campaigns for state office, so one can only conjecture what kind of legislation would have come out of Olympia had the people's representatives not been obligated to Big Money contributors. But luckily there are at least two states - Maine and Arizona - where most of the electors have chosen to accept only public money to run their campaigns. Not surprisingly these legislators ears were more attuned to the needs of the average voter rather than the usual suspects represented by their lobbyists in the halls of the state capitol.

What has occurred in Maine and Arizona is that consumers' needs are addressed in areas such as prescription drug price reduction and environmental protection legislation. What has happened is that a level playing field has been established that opens up the election process and its resulting consequence to all.

Voter resistance to using public funds is anticipated. Opponents will try to scare the public by raising the specter of higher taxes, always an effective tactic when reason cannot be brought to bear. However, the amount needed is anticipated to be in the range of $5 to $7 per person per year. This can come from a number of sources, most of them not out of the average citizen's pocket. What cannot be accurately quantified, but is nevertheless present, is the effect on the public resulting from legislation that benefits special interests at the expense of the average Washingtonian

Although the following sounds as if it came from some hard core advocacy group, in reality it is a quote from Mike Connelly of the Public Disclosure Commission, who is tasked to ensure that elections are run fairly and within the legal framework of state regulations. Commenting on the campaign contributions during the recent primary for judicial office, he said: "These entities--the corporations, trade associations, unions--have taken control of the election process, which has a dramatic adverse effect on the public confidence in the political process."

Of the $2.6 million raised in the primary for state judicial offices, the bulk--$2.1 million--was spent on the races for the seats held by three incumbents on the state Supreme Court: Chief Justice Gerry Alexander and Justices Tom Chambers and Susan Owens.

During the 2006 primaries and election campaign candidates for state office were deluged with a tsunami of cash. Great for the candidates, marvelous for their consultants and advisers, and splendid for the television medium which filled the air with simplistic sound bites. But lousy for the average Joe and Jane who were never going to get closer to the winning candidate than the junk mail they receive before the next election.

Meanwhile, those four, five and six figure contributions from the special interests guarantee access to the legislators, thereby ensuring that the giver's voice can be heard a lot more clearly than Joe and Jane's. Obviously money not only talks, but it resonates too.

Washington Public Campaigns (WPC) is actively trying to make our state more progressive by demanding that our legislature consider and pass laws that will result in publicly funded elections starting with the judiciary and eventually encompassing all state and local elections. WPC is in the process of assembling a broad-based coalition to bring about a fairer and more responsive electoral system

Although WPC's goal is ambitious, it is currently lobbying the state legislature for modest changes and hoping for more. Specifically it advocates public funding of state judicial races, which has the support of Governor Gregoire. It also wants to see the ban on the use of public funds during local campaigns overturned.

For more info see www.washclean.org .