Clean Elections in WV: Time to Celebrate Some Victories!

The twisting, winding, bumpy road to Clean Elections is not unlike the roads folks drive over every day in West Virginia. Can you imagine what West Virginia would be like without the overwhelming influence of money and special interests in West Virginia’s political system? How different might it be if public interests came before, or were on a level playing field with special interests like Big Coal.

Thanks in part to the WV Citizens for Clean Elections, a powerful coalition of 27 diverse organizations, we’re getting closer to this voluntary option so candidates can opt for public funding of their campaigns.

Passage of a Clean Elections bill was a top or nearly top priority for the 2004 legislative session for the American Association of Retired Persons, National Association of Social Workers, West Virginia Council of Churches, West Virginia Environmental Council, Common Cause-WV and West Virginia Citizen Action Group.

During both the December interims and the regular legislative session, we had some legislative victories, which would not have been possible without the grassroots efforts of PERC’s non-501c3 (non-profit) coalition partners, who generated letters, e-mails and phone calls to key legislators in support of clean elections.

In addition, we had other great support. Deb Ross (Public Campaign, DC) and Winnett Hagens (Democracy South, Va.) spent three days here, meeting with coalition partners and key legislators to map out a winning strategy! Just days before a vote, Common Cause (national office) phoned their West Virginia members urging them to contact their legislators. Additionally, the Reform Institute (Va.) and Justice at Stake (DC) generated many letters of support for clean elections to key legislators!

On February 23, the Senate Judiciary committee passed the "Public Campaign Financing Act" (Clean Elections) out of committee and on to the Senate Finance Committee! The bill received bi-partisan support. "No" votes came from Senators Harrison-R, Deem-R, Weeks-D, and Ross-D.

Our Senate sponsors were Jon Blair Hunter (lead), Judiciary Committee Chairman Jeffery Kessler, Senate Minority Leader Vic Spouse (R), Anita Skeens Caldwell, Tracy Dempsey, Evan Jenkins, Brooks McCabe, Larry Rowe, John Unger and Randy White. We had six sponsors on the Judiciary Committee and four on the Finance Committee.

On the House side, a special sub-committee, hand-picked by the House Judiciary Chairman Jon Amores with Clean Election lobbyists’ input, fine-tuned the House’s version of the bill. Although we had anticipated a vote in the House Judiciary, Chairman Amores decided not to take up the bill when agreement couldn’t be reached on a contentious amendment. Amores preferred not to pressure committee members since passage by the Rules Committee and the full legislature didn’t seem likely this year.

Thanks to Rev. Dennis Sparks and Carol Warren, from the West Virginia Council of Churches, who met with House Speaker Bob Kiss and Amores early in the session, a resolution to keep the Clean Elections bill before the legislature during interims is pending.

Special thanks go to Si Galperin of Common Cause and Julie Archer of West Virginia Citizens Action Group for the incredible job they’ve done educating members of the legislature! We are in great shape to carry the Clean Elections Act forward as interims begin.