Limit donations to stem corruption
By District Attorney Michael A. Ramos
Posted: 07/28/2011 06:20:49 PM PDT
The transcripts of the Grand Jury proceeding in the Colonies settlement prosecution have been unsealed for the media and public to see. Through the testimony of 45 witnesses over a period of four weeks, a story was told of greed and the corrupting influence of money. It is a sad and disappointing tale of government officials who failed the public that they were given the honor to serve. It is a virtual primer on what is wrong with a San Bernardino County government that tolerates unlimited amounts of campaign contributions to those in power or those who want to take power.
But the winds of change are upon us. Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Josie Gonzales has called for multiple reforms affecting board staff. And new Supervisor Janice Rutherford has formed an Ethics Advisory Working Group of distinguished citizens to recommend additional reforms. I applaud and support these efforts. They are consistent with the spirit of the County Reform White Paper I offered last year.
But any county reform effort will be, at best, a half measure if it does not include stringent new laws establishing contribution limits and the means to enforce them. This county can no longer tolerate a candidate's million-dollar war chest nor contributions of hundreds of thousands of dollars from a single donor looking for favors.
As stated plainly in a May 21 editorial in The Sun supporting campaign contribution limits: "Illegal or not, it all stinks. And campaign contributions are at the bottom of it, buying all sorts of questionable favors." Limits will not be a panacea that will end all dishonesty in government. But campaign contribution limits must be the heart of any serious reform effort.
Many will oppose. Some argue that disclosure requirements are sufficient protection. But we already have disclosure requirements, and our recent experience tells us all that it is clearly not enough. Others say that limits will simply drive expenditures underground with disguised contributions through PACs. There are strategies to counter this, but just because a problem presents challenges does not mean we should give up our efforts to address it.
Some of the loudest opponents argue that limits on campaign contributions to candidates are unconstitutional, as a violation of the First Amendment. That argument is patently false. The U.S. Supreme Court in Buckley v. Valeo (1976), a unanimous decision, stated, "To the extent that large contributions are given to secure a political quid pro quo from current and potential office holders, the integrity of our system of representative democracy is undermined. Of almost equal concern as the danger of quid pro quo arrangements is the impact of the appearance of corruption stemming from public awareness of opportunities for abuse inherent in a regime of large individual financial contributions. Congress could legitimately conclude that the avoidance of the appearance of improper influence is also critical if confidence in the system of representative government is not to be eroded to a disastrous extent." I submit to you that public confidence in local government has been eroded to a "disastrous extent" in San Bernardino County.
Half measures will no longer work. There are already campaign limits for state offices, for the U.S. House of Representatives, for the U.S. Senate and for president of the United States. We must join over 100 other jurisdictions in California in establishing a comprehensive system of campaign contribution limit laws. Our citizens deserve a loud and bold statement that the corrupting influence of money on our public officials will end. We must declare that decision-making by elected officials will no longer be conducted on a field strewn with the corrupting influence of campaign money, but solely on the field of ideas - the ideas that best serve our citizens.
I call on our Board of Supervisors to direct county counsel to begin drafting a comprehensive set of campaign contribution laws that will help to restore confidence in a county government that will serve our future with integrity and excellence.
Michael A. Ramos is San Bernardino County's district attorney.
http://www.sbsun.com/pointofview/ci_18571473
No comments:
Post a Comment