 |
ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS HERALD |
 |
||
|
||||
|
MEETING THE DEADLINE FOR CLEAN ELECTIONS CONTRIBUTIONS Great ideas can be ruined in many ways. One such experiment is the New Jersey Fair and Clean Election Pilot Project currently being conducted in the 13 th and 6 th Legislative Districts in New Jersey. While all the legislative districts are up for election in November the 13 th District is Monmouth County’s guinea pig at election reform. Earlier this week, the two Democrat candidates participating in the Pilot Program pulled out of the experiment. William Flynn and running mate Michael Desaro have conceded that they could not collect the number of contributions needed to qualify for state funds. On one hand, you could fault them for not availing themselves of every avenue to collect the needed funds, but the reality is that the rules are extremely onerous and the time too short. Flynn and Desaro, as well as their Republican opponents Amy Handlin and Sam Thompson have been beating the bushes for contributions. The problem is that it is darn near impossible to get 1,000 $5 checks and 500 $30 checks by September 21. And that is after the deadline was extended! Most folks don’t pay attention to elections until after Labor Day, and it is no small feat going door to door to get such contributions. It takes time to explain who you are, what your mission is, and then asking for the check all in the same visit. Sure, the candidates could have tapped the Internet, local newspapers and even the AHHerald to collect the needed contributions. But there is no guarantee that readers or Internet surfers want to participate in these new reforms. Obviously, the public is crying out for campaign finance reform, but reluctant to participate in the process. The fault doesn’t rest with the candidates or with the public. The blue ribbon commission imposed unreasonable demands upon the candidates with very little time and failed to incorporate suggestions from seasoned politicians of both parties. We can only hope that the Election Law Enforcement Commission learns from this experiment because the idea is a worthy one.
|
|
| ||||||
