Give 'Fair Elections' proposal a fair chance

By Luke Peterson
Published: Friday, Aug. 26, 2005 9:26 a.m. MDT
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This past Tuesday I presented a preliminary outline of a proposal for publicly financed campaigns, termed "Fair Elections," to the Salt Lake County Council. That draft proposal was the product of hundreds of hours of careful research and preparation volunteered by members of the Ethics Advisory Panel formed earlier this year under the leadership of council members Jenny Wilson, Mark Crockett and David Wilde. Nevertheless, the preliminary proposal was never purported to be anything other than just that: a preliminary proposal. The best research of the panel was presented before the council for the sake of initiating discussion on the issue.

I was therefore surprised to read Friday's editorial in the Deseret News condemning "Fair Elections" as a "deeply flawed proposal." This critical analysis becomes even more curious when one considers that the editorial board has not seen a copy of the draft proposal it finds lacking. The only information on "Fair Elections" the board and readers were privy to was the article written by News reporter Erin Stewart BEFORE the proposal was presented to the County Council. It would seem that the editorial board found "Fair Elections" dangerous enough to hang first and hold the trial later.

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I believe that the West has progressed beyond such vigilante justice and that we ought to let the accused at least say a word or two while we finish tying the noose.

Public financing of election campaigns is a complex proposal that cannot be so easily dismissed. I admit that when I first heard the notion I thought it to be absolutely absurd. Yet as I read further on the subject I realized that this truly is the best cure available for our ailing democracy. As a member of the most politically apathetic group in America, 18- to 25-year-olds, I can tell you that my peers have largely given up hope in this nation. They feel that those elected to represent their interests in government represent only the interests of those who fill their campaign coffers.

Yet every time I present the idea of "Fair Elections" to a classroom of students, I see minds changed. I have personally witnessed dozens of students become excited about politics for the first time at the concept of representatives who are beholden only to their constituents.

I will not attempt here a full defense of "Fair Elections"; I write merely to state that the readers of the News deserve the chance to hear a full discussion on "Fair Elections" and make up their own minds.

Luke Peterson is the executive director of Utah Students for Clean Elections and a member of the board of Common Cause of Utah.

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