Panel formation eyed on campaign financing

Council to introduce ordinance Feb. 20.

By: Lea Kahn
   Township Council plans to move ahead with a proposal to form a citizens committee to explore financing municipal political campaigns with taxpayer dollars by introducing an ordinance to create the committee at its Feb. 20 meeting.
   The citizens committee would present its recommendations to Township Council, which could take steps to place a referendum on the Nov. 6 general election ballot. It would be up to the voters to decide if they want publicly funded municipal campaigns.
   If approved by voters, the proposed ordinance would eliminate the need for council candidates to raise money for their campaigns. They would not have to rely on private contributions, which could potentially result in one candidate out-spending a rival candidate.
   Municipal Attorney Kevin Nerwinski told the council Tuesday that he had researched the issue and could not find any legal hurdles that would prevent the governing body from moving forward with the citizens committee.
   "As we had believed, no other municipality in New Jersey has enacted such legislation," Mr. Nerwinski said. "I have been unable to find any statute, case law or legal doctrine that precludes the township from having publicly financed municipal elections."
   Mr. Nerwinski also recommended that the exploratory committee should use the New Jersey Fair and Clean Elections Pilot Project as guidance for the publicly financed campaigns that it envisions for Lawrence Township.
   The Clean Elections pilot program allowed participating candidates to receive public funds to conduct a campaign, according to the state Election Law Enforcement Commission Web site. The experiment was carried out in districts 6 and 13 in 2005 and it will be expanded to include six additional districts this year.
   "It should be understood from the outset that the township could not lawfully require candidates to finance their campaigns with public funds," he said. "This was an essential concept of the New Jersey Fair and Clean Elections Pilot Project. Candidates must retain the option to campaign for office without the use of public funds."
   Candidates who are seeking public funds for their campaign should be required to show sufficient public support for their campaign, Mr. Nerwinski said. The pilot program required candidates to collect a certain amount of private contributions at a nominal amount in order to receive public funds, he said.
   The Lawrence Township Republican Party has expressed its opposition to publicly financed municipal elections. Scott Bentivegna, the Republican municipal chairman, said the party’s opposition boils down to two points — taxpayer dollars should not be used to pay for elections, and all campaign contributions should be reported to the public immediately.
   Darrah Lane resident Jim Cleak told Township Council on Tuesday that while he had not made up his mind about publicly funded municipal elections, he was surprised at the Republican opposition to it.
   "In terms of who it would help, I’m not sure," Mr. Cleak said. "I’m a little surprised at the Republican opposition because their campaigns seem perennially underfunded compared to the Democrats. With their name recognition, incumbents in general don’t need as much to run a campaign as challengers do."
   It’s possible that candidates not affiliated with the Republican or Democratic parties could have something to offer, but without deep pockets they could not afford to run, Mr. Cleak said. It would be important for would-be candidates to show they have enough support through a petition, "or the kooks would come out of the woodwork," he said.