Ald. Austin King, District 8, unveiled a proposal Monday entitled Clean Elections Reform that describes the need for public financing of elections in Madison—particularly for mayor, alder and municipal judge.
King said that though his time as alder is almost over, the need for ""clean elections"" is ever present in Madison. He noted corruption exists around the state in institutions such as the governor's race and the Milwaukee elections and that his proposal would help keep potential corruption out of Madison races.
""It guarantees that our local democracy will avoid the plague of corruption that has afflicted the state Legislature, Governor and our counterparts in Milwaukee by ensuring the public interest is never trumped by special interest campaign cash,"" King said in a statement.
Some endorsers of the proposal include Jay Heck, executive Director of Common Cause Wisconsin and Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Both agreed that Madison elections must steer clear of corruption.
""With Madison facing the prospect of an all-white City Council for the first time since the 60s, clean elections are an important safeguard to keep our democracy inclusive of all of Madison,"" McCabe said.
The Council will vote on the resolution at its next meeting March 6.
