New York: The Front Line in the Political Money Wars

It was Cuomo's public support for campaign finance reform that sparked the creation of New York LEAD, a group of influential business executives, former lawmakers, and philanthropic bigwigs advocating for public financing in state elections. Members include Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, former World Bank president Jeffrey Sachs, former New York City mayor Ed Koch, and entertainment guru Barry Diller. LEAD has also attracted bipartisan support from politicos including former Sen. Bob Kerrey, a Democrat, and former Securities and Exchange Council chairman Bill Donaldson, a Republican.

Sean Eldridge, an investor and founding member of LEAD (and Chris Hughes' fiancée), says the group formed to show there was a "fresh set of leaders" who support Cuomo's call for reform—not just the usual advocates. Yet LEAD's members, he says, are just as disgusted with the state of New York politics as those diehard reformers and good-government types. "It's about a system that's broken—it's broken for voters, it's broken for candidates who have to run around spending their time raising money," he says. "We need to fix that and create a healthier system for everyone."

Some of LEAD's members are major political donors. Many of them, including Eldridge himself, are personally tired of the grind of New York's big-donor-driven system. "I host a lot of fundraisers," he says. "I would love to host fewer fundraisers."

Eldridge says he and his members will press lawmakers and Cuomo administration officials to get public financing passed this spring. LEAD's support, Cuomo's public pledges, and the widespread support among New Yorkers and the groups launching their effort on Wednesday gives public financing a serious shot at passing. "Our push to build a campaign that's as diverse and broad as ever before in New York will hopefully makes this the shining issue for the remainder of the [legislative] session," says Charlie Albanetti, a spokesman for Citizen Action of New York, a leader in the reform effort.

A victory in New York, reformers say, could ripple throughout the country in the larger campaign to neutralize Citizens United and other decisions like it and revamp how elections get funded. "It's like the old show-biz line," Nick Nyhart, president of the reform group Public Campaign, says of the New York effort. "If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere."

Link to original article from Mother Jones