City of Madison
Legislative File ID   05772
Type:   Resolution    Status:   Passed
Enactment Date:   3/21/2007    Enactment No.:   RES-07-00379
Title:  
AMENDED SECOND SUBSTITUTE - Supporting the investigation of full public financing of municipal elections for alderperson, mayor, and municipal judge and establishing a "Blue Ribbon Committee on Clean Elections" to study and issue recommendations related to the specifics of a clean elections ordinance.
Controlling Body:   COMMON COUNCIL ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITTEE
Introduced:   2/26/2007    Version:   4
Final Action:   3/20/2007    Contact:   Lisa Veldran 608-266-4071
Name:  
Endorsing full public financing of municipal elections for alderperson, mayor, and municipal judge and establishing a "Blue Ribbon Committee on Clean Elections" to study and issue recommendations related to the specifics of a clean elections ordinance.
Extra Date 1:  
Requester:   COMMON COUNCIL ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITTEE
Sponsors:  
David J. Cieslewicz, Austin W. King, Robbie Webber, Michael E. Verveer, Judy K. Olson, Brenda K. Konkel, Tim Gruber, Kenneth Golden, Tim Bruer, Brian Benford
Legislative History
DateActing BodyAction TakenMotion
2/26/2007Council OfficeFiscal Note Required / Approval to the Comptroller's Office/Approval Group Completed on 2/26/2007
2/26/2007Comptroller's Office/Approval GroupApproved Fiscal Note By The Comptroller's Office to the Council Office Completed on 2/26/2007
Notes: Brasser
2/26/2007Council OfficeReferred for Introduction
Notes: Common Council Organizational Committee
2/27/2007COMMON COUNCILA motion was made by Ald. King, seconded by Ald. Verveer, to Refer to the COMMON COUNCIL ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITTEE. The motion passed by acclamation.Pass
3/6/2007COMMON COUNCIL ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITTEEA motion was made by Bruer, seconded by Webber, to RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL TO ADOPT - REPORT OF OFFICER Registrants: Mike McCabe, 3634 Alpine Road, Support, Spoke Will Sandstrom, 2611 Moland Street, Support, Spoke Mr. McCabe indicated that the Council should approach this resolution proactively and view it as a checkup on the health of Madison's democracy. He did not think that the Council should react to campaign finance problems or issues as they arise. Mr. Sandstrom was in support of the proposal and requested that the Council pass the resolution. Ald. Lauren Cnare asked Mr. McCabe in his view what the signs of corruption were on the state level. Mr. McCabe indicated the following signs: 1. Increased special interests meddling in state election campaigns. 2. The rise in the cost of running state campaigns (Examples: $32 million for the recent Governor's race and $8 million for the recent Attorney General's race). He now saw these same warning signs at the city level and thought that this was the ultimately the loss of the "citizen politician". Ald. Lauren Cnare asked how long he thought it would it take the proposed blue ribbon committee to come up with recommendations. Mr. McCabe stated that it was up to the Council but thought that 6 months (180 days) was reasonable. Ald. Austin King provided background on the resolution. Ald. King noted that he was a strong proponent of full public financing of elections and that he also believed that there are cases now where there is a dire need for public financing. He indicated that the interest of the citizens, not political donors, should be at the forefront of campaigns. Ald. Zach Brandon asked what the problem was that needed to be solved. He thought that by solving one problem you would create more problems. He did not see any problems on the local level. He noted that there are already campaign financing provisions in place: limit of $250 from individual donors and a limit of $200 from committee donations (e.g. PAC's) Ald. Brandon also stated that public financing uses taxpayer dollars. Public financing allows people who might not be viable candidates and people who run on specific special-interest agendas to get on the ballot. The taxpayer has no choice on who benefits from their money. He noted that the benefit of having the current campaign financing structure is that it allows for free speech. He supported possibly placing caps on financing, limiting outside contributions, identifying what the problems are today with campaign financing and identifying what problems may occur within the next decade. Ald. Austin King clarified that the resolution not only created the committee but also requested that the Common Council endorse public financing. He stated that the committee membership was deliberately stacked with political reformers to accomplish the resolution's directives. Ald. Brenda Konkel questioned City Attorney May about whether there would be any conflicts with State Statutes. City Attorney May stated that there may be some issues with public financing but State law would be taken into account when drafting any legislation. Ald. Austin King pointed out that candidates could always opt out of public financing. Ald. Lauren Cnare indicated that she saw value in creating the committee but could not support the Council "endorsing" public financing. Ald. Paul Van Rooy agreed. Ald. Brandon also believed there was value in discussing the issues before the Council endorses public financing. Ald. Paul Van Rooy moved, seconded by Ald. Tim Bruer to amend the resolution to read: NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Common Council of the City of Madison does hereby wish to investigate (delete "endorse") full public financing of municipal elections for alderperson, mayor, and municipal judge; and, Ald. Austin King was opposed to the amendment and believed that the Council should take a stand and provide the political will to endorse public financing. The motion to amend the resolution passed on a 4 - 3 vote: Ayes: Van Rooy, Cnare, Knox and Bruer Noes: King, Konkel and Webber Non-voting: Verveer (alternate) The motion passed by acclamation.Pass
3/8/2007Council OfficeFiscal Note Required / Approval to the Comptroller's Office/Approval Group due on 3/9/2007. Completed on 3/8/2007
3/8/2007Comptroller's Office/Approval GroupApproved Fiscal Note By The Comptroller's Office (SUBSTITUTES) to the COMMON COUNCIL ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITTEE Completed on 3/8/2007
Notes: Brasser
3/20/2007COMMON COUNCILA motion was made by Ald. King, seconded by Ald. Cnare, to Adopt as amended. The motion passed by the following vote:Pass
(12:6)
Notes: 4 Registrant(s) in support wishing to speak; 1 Registrant(s) in opposition wishing to speak; 7 Registrant(s) in support not wishing to speak.
3/20/2007COMMON COUNCILA motion was made by Ald. Golden, seconded by Ald. Cnare, to Adopt with the following amendments: strike "5 citizen members" and replace with "7 citizen members" and strike "including at least one representative each of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Common Cause in Wisconsin, The League of Women Voters of Dane County, and two citizens at large" in the first BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED clause. Strike "shall be a joint city-county committee, with appointments to be made jointly by the Mayor and County Executive with approval from both the Common Council and Dane County Board of Supervisors, with one of the two at-large citizen appointments to be from outside the City of Madison." and add "work jointly with a companion County committee created by the County process." in the BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED clause. The motion passed by the following vote:Pass
(12:6)
Notes: A motion was made by Ald. Van Rooy and seconded by Ald. Skidmore to adopt the following amendment: add the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance and two representatives from the business committee as part of the committee makeup in the first BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED clause. There was no action taken on this amendment because Ald. Golden's substitute amendment took precedence over Ald. Van Rooy's amendment.

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