BY KAREN E. BOWES
Staff Writer
In the wake of the failed Fair and Clean Election (FACE) Pilot Program, candidates are now scrambling to make up for lost time.
One candidate says she has a remedy to fix the problem.
Amy Handlin, Republican candidate for State Assembly in District 13, says her six-point plan will “clean up the clean election program.”
Handlin, Middletown, along with incumbent Sam Thompson, Old Bridge, are running against Democrats Mike Dasaro, Holmdel, and Bill Flynn, Old Bridge, for two seats on the Assembly.
Handlin’s plan, as she proposes it, would change the requirements of the FACE program, requirements that have been widely criticized by both sides of the political fence.
According to Dasaro, “Everyone sees the same inherent problems with [FACE].”
Handlin’s first point of contention? The amount of donations needed to qualify for state aid.
“One thousand-five hundred donations per candidate was an impossibly high quota and did the opposite of the legislation’s stated intent, which was to allow the candidates more time for the voters. In reality, I spent all summer chasing contributions and had little time left for anything else,” Handlin said.
Under current FACE guidelines, candidates are required to meet a goal of 1,500 donations within 10 weeks. No less than 1,000 of those donations had to be in the amount of $5, and no less than 500 had to be in the amount of $30.
Handlin suggests changing the minimum number of donations from 1,500 to 400 per candidate.
Dasaro essentially agreed with this point, saying, “somewhere between 500 and 800 combined would be a reasonable number.”
Dasaro and Flynn dropped out of the pilot program in September, a week and a half before the deadline for collecting checks.
Citing the need for campaign literature and lawn signs, the move allowed the Democrats to pursue other avenues of funding, but still left them struggling for money. For example, they have yet to plant any lawn signs.
“We haven’t gotten any yet,” Dasaro said on Monday. “They should be arriving on Thursday.”
Dasaro said a lack of funding is the cause for the delay.
“We haven’t received any money from county Dems or state Dems,” said Dasaro, who said the total cost of running his campaign will most likely not exceed $60,000.
“If you check their ELEC report, they [the Republicans] have significant more money than we do,” said Dasaro. “If they were hindered, I would want that problem.”
Republicans have already begun to decorate local roadways with their signs.
“We are now just starting to raise money,” Handlin said on Friday. “I will be going back to the people who supported me financially in the primary.”
When asked how the FACE experience has effected her campaign strategy, Handlin responded it “has changed nothing.”
Dasaro said he and running mate Flynn placed ads in local newspapers because it was cheaper than printing and mailing brochures.
“The reason we bought ads was because we couldn’t afford mailers,” said Dasaro, adding mailers would cost approximately $8,000.
“We don’t spend money until we have it,” said Dasaro. “It’s all hand to mouth.”
When asked if she was able to afford to respond to the ads, Handlin said, “I wouldn’t respond to silly personal attacks even if I had a million dollars to spend.”
Handlin’s plan to alter FACE also involves changing the dollar amount of each donation.
“There is no magic in the current $30/$5 formula,” Handlin said. “And it adds more confusion to the process. I believe all donations should be in the amount of $5, period.”
Dasaro suggested allowing any dollar amount within reason to be allowable.
Furthermore, Handlin wants to alter the all-or-nothing rule, meaning if a candidate does not make the total goal of 400 donations, partial state funding would still be available.
Dasaro made a similar suggestion, saying state funding should be on a pro-rata basis.
“I feel it would be more reasonable in New Jersey to require 400 donations in the amount of $5 to qualify for partial public funding, and a total of $800 donations in the amount of $5 would allow a candidate to be completely funded,” Handlin said.
The third issue addresses the time allotted to candidates for collecting the donations. Handlin proposes extending the timeline from two-and-a half months in the summertime, to five or eight months, from January or April to Aug. 31.
Her fourth issue deals with what should be done with the checks if a candidate fails to meet the quota set by the state. Handlin says the checks should be returned to the donors, not swallowed by the state treasury.
Democrats avoided this issue by dropping out of the FACE program and mailing the checks back to donors themselves. Republicans, who stayed in the program, handed their checks over to the state commission that oversees the program.
The fifth point calls for online donations by credit card to be allowed.
The final point stresses the need for a public education program regarding the program.
“Ideally, one of the first questions voters should be asking their candidates two years from now is whether or not they are participating in clean elections,” Handlin said.
Dasaro echoed the need for public education.
“The citizens were uninformed this time around,” said Dasaro.
Still in the pilot stage, FACE guidelines were limited to District 13 and District 6 this election season. Participation was on a volunteer level. No one candidates qualified in either district but the Democrats from District 6.