State Races Need Clean Money

By Craig Dunkerley, Letter to the Editor

Re "Capitol awash in party politics," Aug. 8

The impending dance of lobbyists and legislators in Sacramento reminds me how humiliating and unseemly the election process is. And we wonder why more talented and public-spirited people don't run for office, or why voter turnout and faith in elected representatives continues to drop.

If we had public campaign financing like they do in Arizona, Maine and Connecticut, this torrid annual spectacle would fade away and we'd see government accountable to voters instead of to big donors. Our public officials could shed their uncomfortable and unwanted dependence on private money. Everybody would win except the lobbyists and special-interest groups.

Craig Dunkerley
San Jose

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