By Jonathan Mann Santa Monica
Kevin Herrera’s story regarding public financing, is a hot topic for participatory democracy (“Paying up for cleaner races,” May 16). The problem is that candidates would have to raise $3,000 in qualifying contributions to receive up to $100,000 in public revenues. This will be almost impossible for anyone who does not have the seed money to initiate fund-raising — a Catch-22 for progressive candidates unwilling to accept contributions from any special interests.
There is another way for grass roots candidates, which was mentioned at the meeting, but not covered by the press. The city has a Web site which could be used by candidates to communicate their platform and create a conversation in our community.
The council will never approve campaign reforms, such as term limits, public financing and preferential voting, that will level the playing field. Nor will they approve on-line public forums for residents to discuss issues, hold public officials accountable and have a voice in policy decisions. They prefer to hold meetings that few residents attend, other than the usual sycophants who feed at the public trough.
The city of Los Angeles is considering offering citywide wireless access and there is no reason why our city, in this modern age of weBlogs, MySpace and U-Tube, can not implement a virtual town hall. This would allow citizens and special interests alike to participate in electronic debates, not only during elections, but on the issues that impact residents year round. It would also empower women and minority candidates to campaign on a more equal footing. The only way these kind of ideas will ever be implemented is to elect an entire new city council.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 18, 2007. Read the original PDF.