Assembly Majority Leader Joseph J. Roberts

ROBERTS: NEW JERSEY DESERVES AN IMPROVED 'CLEAN ELECTIONS' SYSTEM

(TRENTON) -- Assembly Majority Leader Joseph J. Roberts Jr. today issued the following statement as the New Jersey Citizens' Clean Election Commission held its first meeting after the initial application of public financing in two test districts in the November general election:For Release:
November 22, 2005

Assemblyman Joseph J. Roberts
Majority Leader
P: (856) 742-7600

ROBERTS: NEW JERSEY DESERVES AN IMPROVED 'CLEAN ELECTIONS' SYSTEM

(TRENTON) -- Assembly Majority Leader Joseph J. Roberts Jr. today issued the following statement as the New Jersey Citizens' Clean Election Commission held its first meeting after the initial application of public financing in two test districts in the November general election:

The New Jersey Citizens' Clean Election Commission today begins its critical task of taking a long look at the Clean Elections demonstration and identifying the good, the bad, and the ugly.

My advice to the Commission with respect to this historic program is to polish it, but don't abolish it.

I plan to carefully monitor the Commission's hearings and deliberations and reserve judgment on any changes to the program until the Commission completes its important work in February. The Commission needs to start with a clean slate on Clean Elections and identify ways to make this program work in New Jersey. As the Commission initiates its review process, I respectfully request that it consider the following:

-- What impact would enhanced voter education have on clean elections?

Yesterday's Eagleton/FDU Poll found that more than two-thirds of voters in the 6th and 13th pilot districts did not know their districts were selected for the experiment. This should not be surprising given the absence of any state involvement promoting the program, the most expensive gubernatorial campaign in state history, and a disparity in the coverage that Clean Elections received from different print media sources.

But this also needs to be viewed in the context of a lack of voter awareness in general. While 58 percent of likely voters in Clean Elections districts knew just a little or nothing at all about Assembly races, 63 percent of voters statewide were likewise clueless about the Assembly races. It's not that voters weren't focused on Assembly Clean Elections -- it's that voters weren’t focused on Assembly elections period. I applaud the coverage that some papers -- most especially The Courier-Post -- dedicated to this pilot program as evidenced by the coupons the paper ran asking voters to contribute to clean candidates and the editorial space it lent praising the program. The Commission should measure whether a greater emphasis on voter education on Clean Elections like The Courier-Post offered will assist in the success of the program.

-- Should the qualifying criteria for Clean Elections be modified?

There is no question that the Commission should consider recommended changes to the qualifying criteria for Clean Elections. The current qualifying standards (1,000 $5 contributions and 500 $30 contributions from registered voters) were reached after receiving substantial input from New Jersey's reform groups. On paper, it did not sound unrealistic for a candidate to identify 100 supporters to get 15 friends or neighbors to contribute these small amounts of money to qualify. For some candidates this was not unrealistic. The Democratic ticket in District 6 managed to qualify for Clean Elections financing and their Republican opponents came within 70 percent of the eligibility standard. Nevertheless, we need to revisit and make changes to a program in which 2 candidates qualified and 8 others failed.

I urge the Commission to consider to make qualifying for Clean Elections easier but also to maintain a system with taxpayer safeguards. To compare New Jersey to Arizona and Maine is to compare a tomato and blueberry to a cactus and lobster. Each member of the Maine House of Representatives represents only 8,443 constituents per district (45th in the nation) while each member of our General Assembly represents 105,179 constituents (7th in the nation) according to NCSL.

A Clean Elections candidate for the House in Maine receives $4,400 in public financing for a contested race and less than $1,800 for uncontested races. In Arizona, clean candidates receive only $18,000 for a general election. In New Jersey, each candidate can potentially qualify for $200,000 in public financing.

Qualifying for Clean Elections should not be automatic nor should it be impossible. The Commission should examine ways to strike a balance between realistic standards for qualifying and realistic taxpayer safeguards.

-- Should the time period for qualifying for Clean Elections be extended?

Commission Chairman Senator Bill Schluter, the Election Law Enforcement Commission, the Department of Treasury and Acting Governor Codey deserve the utmost praise for helping to make changes during the program with the goal of maximizing the potential for success and participation by extending the deadline by two weeks, allowing on-line contributions, and permitting contributions by "check" credit cards. One can only wonder had there been even more time, whether these tools could have promoted even greater participation in the program. I believe the Commission should consider allowing participating districts to be selected before the primary election and allowing candidates to begin collecting contributions prior to the primary election as well.

In summary, if we as the Legislature believed that Clean Elections would have succeeded with no questions asked in its first electoral test, then we would have forgone the pilot process from the outset and applied public financing everywhere throughout New Jersey. The reality is that we constructed a system with tough safeguards and a review process that could identify ways to make modifications and improvements. The Commission has an enormous responsibility and I offer you any assistance the Assembly can provide in that regard because we need to make this program work.

As The Times of Trenton cited in an October 18 editorial, the Clean Elections pilot program is "too good to lose." We all must roll up our sleeves in the months ahead and carefully scrutinize what went right and wrong with the first test of Clean Elections financing in New Jersey.

The Clean Elections Commission deserves commendation for beginning this post-election evaluation process, and I look forward to what I anticipate will be a series of recommendations to improve this program in time for the 2007 elections.

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