Some States Look to Address Concerns About Money in Politics

Democrats in the nation’s capital have made an overhaul of campaign finance, ethics and political laws a top priority, but movement may well come first in statehouses from Albany, N.Y., to Salem, Ore…. Rep. John Sarbanes, a Maryland Democrat and chief sponsor of the House Democrats’ overhaul package, says he’s been tracking state and local efforts, including New York City’s longtime public matching program for people running for city offices, parts of which are reflected in HR 1. Additionally, activists in New York are pointing to HR 1 to buoy their own effort to make the program statewide. “We have this opportunity to create a positive feedback loop where the states are informing what we’re putting forward at the federal level,” Sarbanes says. “People are rising up around the country and making their states and localities laboratories of empowerment and reform.”