Portland, Maine
Tuesday, September 9, 1997
by John Alphonse
"The political powers-that-be say we can't have campaign finance reform. But in Maine,we decided to give it a try," says George Christie, executive director of the Maine Citizen Leadership Fund.
Christie and the grassroots organization successfully campaigned to put the Maine Clean Election Act on the ballot, and it was made a state law by voter choice last November. The law takes effect during the election year 2000, and it considerably limits the influence of big money on politics in Maine.
The law has become "a model for the nation," says Christie, as a way to "get money out of politics." He says twenty states are now pursuing their own "Maine-style" campaign reform movements.
The Maine initiative is in fact responsible for the creation of the national Public Campaign organization, which is seeking campaign finance reform at the federal level.
"Maine is actually the ground zero of the new campaign reform movement . . . setting up full public financing of state campaigns," acknowledges Micah Sifry of Public Campaign.
The Clean Election Act recently withstood a constitutional challenge in federal court by the National Right to Life Political Action Committee, American Civil Liberties Union and Maine Civil Liberties Union. The challenge was rebuffed as being premature, in that the act cannot be found unconstitutional at present.
The next major effort by the MCLF kicks off October 25th in Massachusetts, as members and volunteers join to collect signatures to place the Clean Election Act on ballots there.
Actor Alec Baldwin, who has become a celebrity spokesman for the reform movement, will take part in the Massachusetts effort in October.
To get involved in the movement, or for a copy of the Maine Clean Election Act, e-mail the Maine Citizen Leadership Fund, or contact them by telephone at 780-8657 (Fax: 780-0142).
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