Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Attorney General TJDonovan and Secretary of State Jim Condos on Sunday announced the launch of a cooperative effort to create a joint Committee on Campaign Finance Education, Compliance and Reform. Condos and Donovan touted the effort as an important step forward in encouraging compliance with current law and facilitating the development of solutions to address potential shortcomings in Vermont’s campaign finance regime.
“One thing I know every elected official in this state can agree on is that Vermonters are deeply troubled by the growing amount of money that is being spent to influence our political processes,” General Donovan said. “After the Citizens United decision the rules of the game changed dramatically and there is a strong consensus that we want to prevent Vermont’s campaign finance apparatus from being abused or ignored.” Donovan continued, “We need to ensure that our system is as robust as it can be in meeting the real-world challenges of the current political environment.”
Secretary Condos stated, “Court decisions over the last 15-20 years have left us with transparency and disclosure as the basic means of knowing who is financing our elections. It is important that the public has the ability to see who has contributed to which candidates. We are pleased to now have a Campaign Finance website that allows just that.”
The Committee will be tasked with gathering information, analyzing the current state of Vermont’s campaign finance law, and making recommendations for changes or improvements in the law and its implementation. The Committee will initially seek input from Vermonters, including elected officials, activists, PACs, parties and, most importantly, voters at a series of public forums to be held throughout the state. The issues raised by stakeholders will guide the Committee’s work in formulating their analysis and report.
Another purpose of the planned forums will be to promote a broader understanding and awareness of the current campaign finance system in Vermont. “As Secretary of State my focus
has been to encourage compliance through education rather than the threat of punishment. I believe the work of this Committee will provide an opportunity to improve education on, and compliance with, Vermont’s campaign finance laws,” Condos stated. “These are important discussions to have and will help to raise the profiles of these issues. I believe this outreach process will ultimately promote better compliance with less stress and less confusion for candidates, parties, and PACs as well as their contributors.”
General Donovan and Secretary Condos have appointed four initial members to the Committee including two of the leading campaign finance attorneys in Vermont: Attorney Jake Perkinson (former chair of the Vermont Democratic Party) who will serve as Chair of the Committee, and Attorney Brady Toensing (current Vice Chair of the Vermont Republican Party). The Committee also currently includes Josh Wronski (Executive Director of the Vermont Progressive Party) and Natalie Silver from the Vermont Attorney General’s Office. The Committee will receive technical support from the Secretary of State’s and Attorney General’s offices and additional members will be invited to join in order to create a balanced and experienced group to address these important issues.