Contact: Erik Opsal, erik.opsal@nyu.edu, 646–292–8356
New York, NY – Today, by a vote of 80–55, the New York State Assembly passed a bill to create a voluntary public financing system for New York State’s Comptroller’s race, originally proposed by Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The Brennan Center for Justice released the following statement praising the vote from Lawrence Norden, deputy director of the Center’s Democracy Program.
“Today, the Assembly scored a big victory for voter-owned elections in New York State. We applaud Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s initiative in introducing this much-needed public financing bill, which is modeled on New York City’s successful small donor matching program. Public financing will increase competition, participation and public debate in our elections, reduce the potential for corruption in New York State, and encourage qualified candidates to run for office regardless of their access to wealth.
“Given the past history of corruption in the Comptroller’s office, this contest is an appropriate starting point for public financing in our elections. We urge the Senate to promptly pass this bill and send it to Governor Cuomo’s desk for signature. We hope this program will ultimately be extended to New York’s other statewide and legislative elections as part of a comprehensive campaign finance reform initiative.”
Read more on the bill here: http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/comptroller_campaign_finance_reform_act/
For more information, please contact Erik Opsal at erik.opsal@nyu.edu or 646–292–8356.