Campagin Fund Balances: Bad for the People

[apriled]

Campaign Fund Balance Law: Bad for the People

I became convinced after researching, "Campaign Funds After the Waltz" that campaign fund balance law is highly flawed and does not serve the best interest of the people. There is so much abuse and wrong that has no party affiliation, it is across the board, R's, D's, I's contributing to the abuse.

littlechicagowatch.com/2012/02/campaign-funds-after-tn-waltz/

Case No. 1:
Ward Crutchfield had campaign fund balance of $225,000 upon arrest in the Tennessee Waltz. The accumulated fund balance represents donations from citizens, PACs..etc intended to support an ethical candidate. Post conviction, Ward Crutchfield was allowed to keep the fund balance under current TCA provisions, and to this day he expends the funds for donations to Andrae McGary for City Council, flowers, and the balance can be willed to his estate. I don't believe that elected officials convicted of violating public trust, selling legislation, should be allowed to retain campaign fund balance comprised of public donations, and tax exempt.

Case No. 2:
A campaign fund balance essentially accumulates as a war chest for the candidate to spend on any elected office the elected official wishes to pursue. For the Mayors race, Berke will be allowed to retain his Senate campaign fund balance of almost $300,000. Out of the gate with $300,000 does make him "unbeatable."

Case No. 3:
Current campaign fund balance law has some incumbents keeping their families on the payroll as perpetual employees. Fundraising become sustaining family employment. A tax free business.

Bottom line:
Campaign fund balance laws need to be reformed. Problem is the benefactors are also the only people that can reform. I just don't see the will to do this with the elected officials.

Here is the State Law on Unexpended Campaign Fund Balances-Allowable Uses

T.C.A. Title 2, Chapter 10, Part 114 defines allowable uses for unexpended campaign fund balances (Excerpted T.C.A. 2-10-114).

(a) Any candidate for public office in this state shall allocate an unexpended balance of contributions after the election to one (1) or a combination of the following:

(1) The funds may be retained or transferred to any campaign fund pursuant to Tennessee reporting requirements;

(2) The funds may be returned to any or all of the candidate’s contributors, in accordance with a formula or plan specified in the candidate’s disclosure of the allocation;

(3) The funds may be distributed to the executive committee of the candidate’s political party;

(4) The funds may be deposited in the volunteer public education trust fund established under title 49, chapter 3, part 4;

(5) The funds may be distributed to any organization described in 26 U.S.C. § 170(c);

(6) The funds may be distributed to an organization that has received a determination of exemption from the United States internal revenue service pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3) or (4), if such organization is currently operating under such exemption;

(7) The funds may be used to defray any ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in connection with the office of the officeholder. Such expenses may include, but are not limited to, the cost of advertisements, membership fees, and donations to community causes; and

(8) The funds may be distributed to any institution of public or private education in the state, for the purpose of supplementing the funds of an existing scholarship trust or program.

How do you reform if the people charged with reform are also the benefactor?

I do enjoy this site, btw. If I post too much just tell me.

[Justin Thyme]

I think after each election it should be required that all leftover campaign funds be donated to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Each new election cycle everyone starts off with an empty account.

[Half-Tard]

Not a bad idea..JIT..

[rstewart]

You mean the same Red Cross, that after 9/11, held massive fundraisers under the premise of helping those victims yet put the proceeds directly into their operating fund? Billions and billions of $ pledged to help the 9/11 victims but being spent on things other than helping the 9/11 victims.

That Red Cross?

[apriled]

At the end of an election cycle, the elected official should be required to start from zero, and turn the money over to a public use. Upon arrest for public corruption the account should be frozen, until trial. The State Legislature does not see a problem with the current law, wonder why?

[Justin Thyme]

May 6, 2012 5:50:15 GMT -5 rstewart said:

That Red Cross?

Yes, that Red Cross. Even that Red Cross will put the money to better use than leaving a politician with unspent campaign funds to fund some future campaign.

[apriled]

Red Cross better than tax exempt war chest that strengthens an incumbents hold. There is so much verifiable data about government malfeasance, and law that is contrary to the people.

A lot of people detest the group and I for doing LittleChicago, but it is needed to connect these problems. On the other hand, what has it accomplished, an easy not a thing.

[rstewart]

I have an even better idea. Mandate that the money be applied directly to that bodies debt. In Ward Crutchfield's case the State of TN, in Duke Cunningham, Dan Rostenkowski and other such bastards case the United States of America.
This way EVERY person benefits directly from the $ rather than those chosen or annointed by the Red Cross or similar organization.

[Justin Thyme]

May 7, 2012 7:17:27 GMT -5 rstewart said:

I have an even better idea. Mandate that the money be applied directly to that bodies debt. In Ward Crutchfield's case the State of TN, in Duke Cunningham, Dan Rostenkowski and other such bastards case the United States of America.
This way EVERY person benefits directly from the $ rather than those chosen or annointed by the Red Cross or similar organization.

You're missing the point in worrying about where the money goes. The idea is to eliminate one of the advantages of the incumbency that has nothing to do with performance. Just because I support a politician with a donation in this election doesn't mean that I will continue to support that politician in the future. I'd like to see challengers not be disadvantaged from the get go with an opponent with an established campaign warchest. The incumbent will automatically have advantage in name recognition over challengers. I think that is enough advantage.

Who is the recepient of those excess campaign dollars is immaterial for now but the idea that the left over campaign funds be dropped into the treasury of the body that the politician is elected to kind of goes toward defeating that purpose. That's just more money added to our tax dollars for the politician to use to buy votes.

[apriled]

How do we reform campaign fund balance law, when the people authorized to change the law are benefactors? The only way would be a statewide petition to get it on a ballot, and it would cost a lot of money. The petition would have to be signed by 20% of the registered voters in the State, a daunting task.

[Justin Thyme]

May 8, 2012 8:12:42 GMT -5 apriled said:

How do we reform campaign fund balance law, when the people authorized to change the law are benefactors? The only way would be a statewide petition to get it on a ballot, and it would cost a lot of money. The petition would have to be signed by 20% of the registered voters in the State, a daunting task.

April, I work for a company that manufactures medical devices. We are regulated by the FDA. My job is to resolve issues with the controls systems on the processes. Sometimes those issues require making changes to the control system which requires revalidation of the entire system. One small change requires reams of paperwork and dozens of signatures. Everything I do, every day, is a daunting task. Do you know how to accomplish a daunting task? Don't look at what is left to be done or what has been done, only what you need to do right now.

If this is something you believe strongly in your task right now is to draw up the petition. Don't even think about checking it until that is the task at hand and when it is go through the petition with a sharp pencil and make sure it is right. Don't even think about getting signatures until the petition is right. At that point get your first signature. Don't worry about the next signature, just this one. Got it? Good now give a recruitment pitch to the person that signed it. If you successfully recruit this person train them in what to do. Are they trained? Send them about their tasks. Now you can look for the next signature. Do this over and over and over until you have your signatures.

Daunting tasks are only daunting if you take your eyes off what needs to be done right now.

[osrb]

So true JT. Never look at a job as too big look at it as many small jobs then get one done at a time.

[apriled]

Yes, this is something very important to me, or I would not have spent over one month of my personal free time researching this. For me, it is more of an issue of taking time away from family time to accomplish this. Still, it does feel daunting, after working on a recall petition for so long.

[Justin Thyme]

Another way to take care of a daunting task is to motivate someone else to do it.

[Tookie]

I think they should donate it to a fund to pay off the national debt.

[apriled]

This bad law has to be changed. I contacted two State legislators with the data we gathered in Little Chicago Watch with an analysis of the law by a local attorney. I was a mere annoyance to them, they did not want to hear it. You can tell when people are just listening to do their time.

[gridbug]

May 8, 2012 10:12:45 GMT -5 Tookie said:

I think they should donate it to a fund to pay off the national debt.

I'll second that proposal!

[apriled]

They will not change the campaign fund balance law. April