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The crooks running rampant in Albany won’t change their ways if the state institutes taxpayer funding for election campaigns, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday.
His stance placed him in direct conflict with Gov. Cuomo, who has pledged to enact just such a public funding system to help get rid of the corruption that had two legislators wearing wires for two different federal prosecutors last year.
“Public financing wouldn’t have cured anything,” the mayor argued on his weekly WOR radio show. “What is clear is that they have a lot of corruption. Most of the things that have been in the paper would not be cured by that.”
Cuomo is supporting a measure modeled on New York City’s campaign finance system, where candidates for citywide office can’t accept individual contributions of more than $4,950. Those that agree to abide by spending limits also receive a six-to-one match for each contribution up to $175.
Candidates for statewide office can take up to $41,1000 per donor in a general election.
Bloomberg, who spent more than $250 million from his own pocket to win three terms in office, conceded the city’s system “does seem to work.”
But, he said, it’s not without flaws.
“There’s some abuses,” Bloomberg said. “Sometimes people get money when they don’t really have an opponent. It’s a little hard to implement.”
Although critics say he’s not pushing hard enough, Cuomo is on record supporting public financing for state elections.
Cuomo argues that reducing big special interest donations will curb “pay-to-play” politics.
The Campaign Finance Institute think tank has put the cost over four years at between $104 million and $162 million. Opponents claim it could be as high as $331 million.
The opponents with the ability to block a new financing system are the Republicans in the state Senate who have reaped millions from Bloomberg, mostly through his donations to so-called housekeeping accounts that are exempt from the $41,100 limit.
A study this week found the mayor handed out $7.2 million in “soft money” to political parties over the last six years, with most going to the Senate GOP.
State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Queens), who has proposed capping individual contributions to as little as $5 to limit the impact of big-money donors, said Bloomberg should be the last person giving advice on election financing.
“He’s been part of the problem,” Avella said. “It’s [public financing] not the total solution. It is one solution. The corruption begins and ends with the money.”