Suffolk campaign finance repeal will keep ordinary citizens from seeking office

For government to actually work for the people, the voices of everyday people must be included and represented. That was the reason behind Suffolk County’s public campaign finance program, which would have amplified the voices of ordinary Americans drowned out by big money in politics. We should be encouraging democracy and fighting corruption, but too many Suffolk legislators appear to be more concerned with preserving their advantage.

Legis. Nick Caracappa (C-Selden) recently canceled a fundraiser after Newsday uncovered the ties between his reelection PAC and the “anti-domestic violence” nonprofit founded by Conservative political operatives. What appears to be insider palm-greasing has a chilling effect on voter engagement, especially when better alternatives to draw people to the polls are lacking.

This is exactly why we needed the now-repealed public campaign finance program. It takes money to run for public office. Ordinary Americans often don’t have the financial means to make this type of public service feasible. Lack of wealth or access to wealth should not be disqualifying. It is profoundly undemocratic for public office to be the purview of only the rich.

Under the public campaign finance program that Caracappa helped repeal, county revenue from OTB profits would be used to bring accountability and transparency to Suffolk County politics. Now we know why he voted against it.

Suffolk's public campaign finance program would have made it easier for “we, the people” to represent our communities. Participating candidates would have been required to solicit contributions no larger than $250 from residents within their districts, with qualifying donations matched 4-to-1. With strict reporting requirements, this money could have been spent on pro-democracy election activities such as mailers, political literature, canvassing, and polling.

Similar public campaign finance programs have existed for years in New York City and Los Angeles, as well as in states like Connecticut, Arizona, and Maine. These programs have demonstrated a strong track record of successfully prioritizing small donations from voters over large ones from special interests, resulting in better repres­ent­a­tion and greater respons­ive­ness to constitu­ents' needs.

The Suffolk County legislators who voted to repeal the program have once again demonstrated that they are more concerned with maintaining power and the advantage that big money networks buy. They essentially took public emergency response services hostage in order to kill the program before it could take effect.

The real numbers don’t lie: The public campaign finance program was a tiny fraction of the county’s budget. A mere $1 million was allocated for the public campaign finance program in the 2022 fiscal year, followed in each subsequent year by 15% of the county's annual share from OTB revenue, not to exceed $2.6 million. Suffolk County’s overall budget is $3.88 billion. The county could easily afford to both fund the public campaign financing program and protect public safety by purchasing gun-locator technology, one reason lawmakers gave for repealing the program.

However, the legislators cut the public campaign finance money that threatened the power of big money donors — corporations, real estate developers, and the police unions — who want to preserve the advantages that money buys. It was repealed precisely because it was going to work, as it has elsewhere.

Perhaps with public campaign financing, more ordinary Suffolk residents would sit on the county legislature, and we wouldn’t have to choose between public safety and protecting our liberty and freedom via the ballot. But, for now, Suffolk County must wait for a more inclusive democracy.