From: Dennis Bailey
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 2010
Subject: Scarcelli: Why I Said NO to Clean Elections Money
Rosa Scarcelli, Democratic candidate for governor
JAN. 11, 2010 – Rosa Scarcelli, Democratic candidate for governor, said today that while she considered using taxpayer money from the state’s Clean Elections Fund to finance her campaign, she said the current budget shortfall in Augusta convinced her to take the more difficult traditional route.
In posts on her Facebook fan page (Rosa for Maine) and the political blog Dirigo Blue, Scarcelli said the state’s budget problems are forcing lawmakers to make some tough decisions and set priorities.
“We are cutting everything from school programs to health care and human services in an effort to close this gap,” she wrote. “These are very difficult choices, and it’s forcing us to set priorities. Because of our tough economic times, our state simply doesn’t have the money to provide the level of services it has in past years. I could not in good conscience take tax dollars to run my campaign knowing that every dollar I received was a dollar that wasn’t going to support our schools or provide care for the elderly, or repairing roads and bridges.”
Scarcelli said she is not an opponent of the Clean Elections Fund and believes that money and influence should be removed from politics. “But in light of current economic circumstances, I decided to fund my campaign the old fashioned way,” she wrote. “If times were different, perhaps my decision would be too.”
Scarcelli took exception to comments by some of her opponents who said in interviews last week that the Legislature had a responsibility to fully fund the Clean Elections law because voters in a referendum passed it overwhelmingly. One candidate said voters “didn’t just enact it in good times.”
Scarcelli noted that the public seems to be “voting with their wallets,” because contributions to the Clean Elections tax check-off have dropped considerably, from 67,000 contributors in 2007 to just 22,000 in 2008. And she pointed to LD1, a statewide referendum that was also passed by voters requiring the state to pay 55% of K-12 education costs.
“So has the Legislature been as faithful in fulfilling the voter’s wishes when it comes to education funding and property tax relief,” she asked. “No. That 55% level of funding enacted by voters in 2005 has been ramped down to where we started, roughly 43%. Gov. Baldacci has proposed even further cuts, and an editorial last week in the Times Record said if the cuts are approved, the Legislature “risk[s] breaking faith with Mainers who embraced LD1.” I’m sure the voters didn’t just enact LD1 ‘for the good times. More…
Maine utility regulators will take public testimony on Central Maine Power Co.’s plan to build a transmission line from the Record Hill wind farm in western Maine to CMP’s transmission grid.
AUGUSTA, Maine—Maine Gov. John Baldacci says more can be done to streamline government to save money as lawmakers continue to work on ways to close a $438 million shortfall in the state budget.
