Political Campaign Costs and Financing

How much is an election worth? Apparently quite a bit, since Orange County Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder has already raised $159,000 for her 1990 reelection campaign. By the time the campaign is over, much more will probably be spent by the wealthy landowners, builders and developers who wish to see Wieder remain in office in order to preserve their political advantage.

In a county that has real problems housing the homeless, feeding the hungry, coping with drug abuse, building affordable housing, providing health care, educating the young and caring for the elderly, expenditures of this magnitude on political campaigns seem nothing less than obscene.

Spending in local, state and national campaigns has skyrocketed in the past 10 years. In 1986 the average incumbent running for reelection in the House spent over $330,000 and in the Senate spent over $3 million. In 1984 the average seat in the California State Assembly cost $384,000.

These expenditures are excessive in their own right. Indeed, along with Wieder’s war chest, they are an embarrassment to our priorities as a society. More importantly, they make it all but impossible for the average citizen to run for office. Elections no longer tell us who is the best candidate. Rather, they reveal who has been the best fund raiser. That’s a pitiful excuse for representative government.

The time for national and state campaign financing and expenditure legislation is long overdue. Of course, it’s not much of a surprise that well-entrenched incumbents have little incentive to regulate the very means they utilize to stay in power. As a result, it’s time for the citizens of this state to reassert control over the costs and financing of political campaigns. We can do so by utilizing the initiative process and by sending a message to current officeholders that excess in the realm of campaign expenditures is not a virtue.

MARK P. PETRACCA

Irvine