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December 18, 2003
TO THE PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF
THE CITY COUNCIL OF PHILADELPHIA:
I am herewith returning to you as disapproved Bill Number 030562, which would establish local campaign contribution limits for candidates for Mayor or City Council, cap the total amount of money a candidate may receive from political committees during off-years, and allow a candidate to pledge to limit total campaign expenditures per election.
I cannot stress strongly enough that my Administration supports comprehensive, meaningful and effective campaign finance reform. It is impossible not to be conscious of the cynicism in our electorate about the power of money in politics and the overall cost of elections. Unfortunately, this bill will not reduce the cost of local elections and it is rife with consequences that will do little to advance the public's faith in elected officials. To efficiently address the complex challenge of campaign finance reform, Council and the Mayor together should rise above the need for a symbolic short-term political response and work toward real reform. Reform that has a real chance to limit the influence of money in politics, reduce the cost of elections and insure that the public has easy access to the information it needs to make informed judgments. During elections, the public gets most of its information from television, radio and direct mail. These expenses drive the increasing cost of elections. Because Bill 030562 falls far short of achieving comprehensive, effective and meaningful reform I cannot support this legislation.
The quarter century struggle with federal campaign finance reform highlights the complexity of this issue and proves that limiting direct contributions to candidates is ineffective. Campaign contribution limits for federal elections have existed since the mid-1970's, when Congress made sweeping amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act, still many United St...
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