With corruption scandals tainting Wisconsin's historically clean political reputation, academics and policy makers alike, including Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton, addressed issues of campaign finance reform Saturday at the Fluno Center.
Lawton spoke to members of the conference through her sharing of personal experience as both a political candidate and an elected official.
She said she learned of the cut-throat nature of the electoral process, and how much campaign contributions serve as vital components to any election.
'I learned a big lesson of how elections are run and how campaigns are run,' Lawton said. 'We can talk about who runs, and we can talk about who wins, but we really have to talk about who doesn't run.'
Lawton said she has been an active advocate for campaign finance reform since 1996, claiming that independent expenditure money in Wisconsin is destroying the public's trust and belief in the political system.
'[It] undermines people's confidence in how government works,' she said.
Lawton also talked about the recent legislative indictments, and said because the monetary stakes are so high, there is no better time to support public funding for elections.
Robert Stern, president of Center for Governmental Studies, said the relationship between campaign contributions and incumbency are inextricably linked.
'Losers don't legislate,' he said.
He said in many cases money is not given for electoral purposes, but rather given to sway the legislative process. According to Stern, many interest groups give to both Democrats and Republicans in attempts to safeguard their chances of getting access to the policy maker once they are in office.
Arizona state Rep. Meg Burton-Cahill, D-Tempe, addressed the issue of campaign reform through advocating for more competitive districts. She said four out of 30 districts are considered truly competitive in Arizona, limiting the types of people who can viably participate in state politics.
'Publicly financed campaigns bring a different group of people to the job,' Burton-Cahill said. '[This is] how we can have more authentic participation at the state level.'
Yet, Lawton said state campaign reform may still take a while to adopt. She said no leadership is 100 percent devoted to the issue, especially the issue of publicly funded campaigns.
'They rode in on that horse, they're not going to shoot it,' Lawton said.
