Even many critics of the campaign finance law – who take issue with the way it's enforced or highlight the limitations it faces – believe the city has benefited from it. "We're better with [the CFB] than without them," concedes a former mayoral candidate who's had his share of disagreements with the board. And the city's system has nowhere the problems of the state's operation, where individuals can give $37,800 to a statewide candidate for a general election, and where more than 1,000 people gave more than $10,000 to candidates in the 2006 cycle. The seriousness of the flaws in Albany's campaign finance regime have made it a top target of "clean elections" advocates, who propose to practically eliminate private fundraising and replace it with taxpayer money.
Skeptics of "clean elections" question whether taxpayers would want to foot so large a part of the bill for campaigns. But places including Portland, Oregon; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Arizona and Maine have already adopted such systems for some offices, and proponents say that similar reforms could come to New York if the state Senate shifts to Democratic control in November. If that happens, the city would face the question of whether matching funds or "clean money" presents the better hope for a healthier politics.
