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Cuomo Seeks Public Financing of Election Campaigns

AP

January 5, 2012

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo has returned to a top campaign objective by calling for voluntary public financing of political campaigns.

He would also lower the amount of top donations.

The measure is cited by good-government groups including Citizen Action as a key to curbing the influence of lobbying money on state officials.

The measure aims to address Albany’s notorious pay-to-play culture, where lobbyists can legally press their issues with the governor or lawmakers and then make large campaign contributions.

As a candidate, Cuomo said the current system allows wealthy campaign donors to have a louder voice than average citizens.

Voluntary public financing would allow candidates to secure limited public funding for their campaigns as long as they agree to several provisions to assure accountability for how the money is spent.