DCCC spends $1 million in Texas

by: proud2Bliberal

Wed Dec 13, 2006 at 09:44:07 PM EST

Expanding clean elections without giving them a chance to succeed

by: Hank Kalet

Wed Dec 06, 2006 at 07:52:16 PM EST

I am getting the distinct impression that the folks who control the state Legislature do not want public financing of elections to actually work.

Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts (D-Camden) has introduced legislation that would expand state's clean elections pilot program for the 2007 election to a third legislative district and lower the seed-money threshold, but he has kept a tight leash on the program -- though you wouldn't know it from Tuesday's story in The Star-Ledger:

Lawrence is onto something

by: Hank Kalet

Wed Nov 22, 2006 at 05:27:55 PM EST

Basically, the argument is simple. So long as local governments -- or any governments -- continue to use private, corporate money to fund their campaigns, the people we elect will be beholden to the money men and the policy that gets crafted will benefit money and not people.

Lawrence Township proposes public financing of local elections

by: Hank Kalet

Fri Nov 17, 2006 at 05:00:41 PM EST

This is an interesting idea from Lawrence Township, one I'd like to see the powers in South Brunswick and Monroe (and every other municipalty) consider.

Councilman Greg Puliti is proposing that Lawrence pay for local political campaigns.

Mr. Puliti said he reviewed several years of Township Council candidate campaign finance reports.

"It boiled down to about $10,000 or $16,000 spent on a Township Council election campaign," he said. "It averaged out to about $5,000 per candidate."

Township Council candidates typically spend money on fliers, newspaper advertisements and lawn signs promoting their candidacies, he said. They may also rent space on a billboard.

Mr. Puliti said the municipal budget would include money for the campaigns that could be budgeted in small increments. Allocating $15,000 or $30,000 in an overall municipal budget of $37 million is less than one-half of one percent, he said.

The basic idea behind clean elections is that candidates would raise seed money -- a specific amout of locally generated donations in $5 and $10 increments -- to qualify for public funding. Those that qualify would get a set amount of cash to run in exchange for promising to abide by spending limits. Candidates could opt out and spend more, but that would trigger an equalizer clause -- extra cash for the candidates who participate.

There are other options, as well, such as the model ordinance drafted by the Citizens' Campaign, under which towns would provide matching funds and/or in-kind services -- Web site or cable TV access, for instance -- in exchange for abiding by limits.

The idea is to cleanse the system of private cash, which creates the impression that candidates and elected officials are more concerned about their contributors than their actual voting constituents, and to level the playing field for minority and third-party candidates.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

The taint of John Lynch

by: Hank Kalet

Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 09:35:01 PM EDT

Others, however, are uninterested. Seems a bad move at a time when several high-profile Democrats are facing ethics probes. What does everyone think?

(Here is what I wrote in the South Brunswick Post.)

Channel Surfing

Mike Ferguson Always Willing To Look The Other Way

by: blue7thpac

Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 09:39:58 PM EDT

Turns out we were both wrong, because Mark Foley -- who was sending sexually explicit e-mails and instant messages to teenage boys -- donated $3,000 to Mike Ferguson, including $1,000 in 1998 when Ferguson was running against Frank Pallone (D-NJ). [Thanks, Juan!]

But apparently Ferguson's staff doesn't bother to check FEC records and just decided to rely on Dump Mike for his info, and he has donated $2,000 to the Tri-County Red Cross and missed the other $1,000.

We've maintained all along  at Dump Mike that the issue is not that Mike Ferguson is necessarily a corrupt politician, but that he is willing to look the other way when it means cash for his own campaigns. 

In just about every instance of Republican corruption over the past few years, you can find Mike Ferguson's hand out for cash from the malfeasant.  Jack Abramoff, Tom Delay, Tony Rudy, Adam Kidan, Randy "Duke" Cunningham, Bob Ney, Jim Ellis, Mark Vallente, Cary and Ryan Katz, the Kontogiannis family, Hewlett Packard and Akin-Gump, Roy Blunt,  Ed Buckham, and many, many others who have been convicted of corruption or are indicted or under investigation.

Then there is the record fine Ferguson received from the FEC for illegally spending $500,000 of his parent's money to win his seat for the first time in 2000,  and the secondary complaint aginst him for illegally colluding with third party right wing groups.

Did Ferguson Look The Other Way After Taking the Cash?

by: blue7thpac

Fri Sep 29, 2006 at 08:40:29 AM EDT

But it did want to hear from Hewlett-Packard about it's recent corruption regarding internal investigations and the theft of personal records belonging to board members, employees and even independent journalists.  This is a big deal, as identity theft and spying are major issues hanging over the heads of Americans.

So H-P hired a high-powered law firm named Akin-Gump to represent them, and hopefully keep them out of trouble. 

According to the New York Post -- owned by the same folks as Fox TV News -- "This election cycle, Akin Gump's political action committee has donated thousands of dollars to members of the House Subcommittee and Oversight and Investigations of the Energy and Commerce Committee, including" Congressman Mike Ferguson.

Ferguson has received $6,000 from the Akin-Gump PAC and another $1,500 from high-level individuals employed by Akin-Gump.

A Tale of Two Candidates

by: blue7thpac

Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 07:18:23 PM EDT

Both men chose to betray their constituents and their parties by misusing their power, and both were always ready to spread money around to keep their positions and garner favor with other politicians.

So what does that have to do with New Jersey's 7th Congressional District?  A lot, because how Lynch and Ney spread their cash around says a lot about the two people who are running for this seat.

We all know that politicians at every level need to raise money to run their campaigns, and the higher you go the more you need.  Every candidate knows and loathes the phone calls, fundraiser and face time it takes to raise that money.  Some candidates don't care where the money comes from, and are happy to take it even if it means giving up their independence and consorting with people who are of questionable ethics.

Mike Ferguson Exploits 9/11 For Campaign Cash

by: blue7thpac

Tue Sep 12, 2006 at 05:06:07 PM EDT

There's one difference between how Ferguson commemorated the event and how the rest of us did it, though.  Mike sent out an e-mail newsletter to supporters with a full color picture of him at the event and used it as a fundraiser for his Congressional campaign.

Here's a screenshot of the e-mail, where you can clearly see the buttons looking for volunteers and campaign cash directly to the left of the article on the 9-11 ceremony.

Wrong choices, wrong Congressman.

You can make a change by helping out Linda Stender:

Mike Ferguson and the White House Avoidance Syndrome

by: blue7thpac

Thu May 04, 2006 at 11:11:52 AM EDT

But Ferguson can't run away from his connections to George Bush.  Ferguson voted for the failed Iraq War, the incompetent Department of Homeland Security, the Energy Bill that gives tax breaks to oil companies, the Patriot Act that reduces civil liberties dramatically while making us safe minimally, to interfere in the medical care of a husband and wife in the Terry Schiavo case, and against embryonic stem cell research that will save lives and families' pain.

And Ferguson is tied in with President Bush's fundraising apparatus as well, beholden to them for the money he uses to win campaigns.  Not only has he accepted more than a quarter of a million dollars from Tom DeLay's crowd,  but also $43,900 from the New Jersey branch of Bush's fundraising team of Pioneers and Rangers alone, which much more coming from out of state. 

Not one of the Pioneers or Rangers below gave to Ferguson in his 1998 or 2000 races, but only after President Bush took over the White House and needed Ferguson's vote -- which he got 91 percent of the time.

Another Lobbying Scandal, And Mike Ferguson Is in the Middle

by: blue7thpac

Wed Apr 19, 2006 at 04:49:17 PM EDT

Mike Ferguson, then a freshman on Financial Services, was given two fundraisers worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $40,000.  Plus, another $750 in 2001 and 2002 from Delk and his wife themselves.  Interestingly, $750 is exactly the cost of the restaurant Ferguson used for these fundraisers.  Also interestingly, he never got billed for using those restaurants.

As a result of Delk and Freddie Mac illegally using corporate funds and employees to set up these fundraisers, the Federal Election Commission fined them $3.8 million -- the largest fine in FEC history.  Public Citizen, which filed the complaint with the FEC, had this to say:

The amount of the fine indicates the magnitude of the violations. The complaint came in the wake of an alarming number of lavish fundraisers hosted by Freddie Mac’s lobbyist – nearly half of which directly benefited lawmakers responsible for overseeing Freddie Mac and mortgage lending practices.

The Republican Governor's Association (RGA) received $150,000 from Freddie Mac, an illegal contribution that the RGA later returned.  By giving the money back, the RGA avoided being fined by the FEC.  The estimated $40,000 Ferguson received as a result of illegal fundraising by Delk and Freddie Mac should share the same fate.

And don't think this is an isolated incident for Ferguson.  This is not the first time he has been involved in FEC cases involving his election to the House and freshman term in 2001 and 2002, and it is likely not the last.