Two guest pieces today, one in the ContraCosta Times, the other in the Napa Valley Register urge voters to make sure Proposition 89, the Clean Elections initiative, does not get lost in the shuffle leading to election day.

E.J. Dionne devotes his column today in the Washington Post to the effort, headed up by Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) to rescue the Presidential public financing system before it crumbles. Dionne cautions that absent this effort, the current spate of scandal will only get worse.

Bob Geary at the Independent Weekly digs in on North Carolina's recent spate of scandals and identifies the problems at the root - one of which is the Assembly's reluctance to embrace the public financing option that has worked so well for judicial candidates.

California Secretary of State candidate Forest Hill makes the case to the California Chronicle that public financing of elections is key to sound environmental policy, lessening as it does the impact of wealthy industry on creation of public policy.

Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Representatives Marty Meehan (D-MA) and Christopher Shays (R-CT) have introduced legislation to fix the very broken Presidential public financing system. The system, introduced in 1974 hit its breaking point in 2004 when candidates opted out.

It looks like California's Proposition 89 supporters will be taking advantage of a big-dollar fundraiser (and Arnold Schwarzenegger's recent dismissal of public financing) to stage a protest in support of Clean Elections.

M E M O R A N D U M

To: Interested Parties

From: Celinda Lake, David Mermin, and John Norris, Lake Research Partners; Christine Matthews, Bellwether Research

Subject: Recent National Survey on Campaign Finance Reform

Date: June 21, 2006

It's the second time out for North Carolina's judicial public financing system and this article focuses on the matching funds that allow candidates using the system to challenge privately financed opponents.

This editorial in the Home News Tribune says public financing deserves another shot in New Jersey, and that without further efforts at reform, the "oligarchy" of wealthy influence will prevail over democracy.

Arizona legislator David Burnell Smith, kicked out of office for violating the Clean Elections system, is trying to win his seat back. This time around, he's not running Clean.