Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Asheville writer and activist Bruce Mulkey writes the following at Mountain Xpress and posts on his blog, www.brucemulkey.com:
Act now to curb special interests and create greater accountability
Whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, a Tea Party member or a Green, an independent or none of the above, you now have an opportunity to reclaim your power. At the Tuesday, June 8, Asheville City Council meeting, Council member Cecil Bothwell will propose a resolution calling on the General Assembly to enact legislation giving the state’s larger towns the power to sponsor public-financing programs — a first step toward publicly financed Asheville elections.
This is a concern for all of us, not just city residents. We must urge Asheville City Council members to support this resolution (see below).
You may hear various justifications for refusing to support publicly financed elections: It would be too expensive, it would penalize candidates who are good at raising money, the system we have works fine, such a program is untested, the state legislation is flawed, etc. But none of these excuses hold up under scrutiny.
It’s time for Asheville to join Raleigh, Durham, Winston-Salem, Cary, Wilmington and Greenville, which have already approved similar resolutions. By doing so, we help ensure that “one person, one vote” is not an obsolete expression but a reality in our community.
* * *
Make your voice heard…
A single e-mail message to [email protected] will reach all City Council members. It’s also important to contact Sen. Martin Nesbitt (919-715-3001, 828-252-0490 or [email protected]) and ask that Asheville be included in the pending state legislation so our city can choose whether or not to implement publicly financed elections.
To learn more about public financing, visit:
http://ncvce.org
You’re welcome. I wonder if you do an update so that info is in the body of the post?
Thanks Bruce. Didn’t catch that on your blog.
To give credit where credit is due, my op-ed re locally financed elections was originally published in today’s Mountain Xpress : http://www.mountainx.com/opinion/2010/060210buy_the_people_or_for_the_people