Going public

North Carolina's election campaigns powered mostly by public funding are proving their worth

Public financing of statewide campaigns was a clear winner in North Carolina's Nov. 4 elections. Nearly all candidates for statewide judicial offices opted for public money under a system that began in 2004 and was upheld recently by a federal appeals court. For the first time, candidates in three Council of State races competed using public funds, under a trial run authorized by the General Assembly.

Now, to further reduce the role of special-interest money, the state should expand its Council of State program to additional offices. Public financing of legislative races -- in many cases now not even contested in the general election -- remains a worthy goal as well.

Also, Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue is following up on her promise to set up a privately funded endowment to finance the campaigns of gubernatorial candidates who pledge to run "positive" campaigns. She's named Tom Lambeth, well known in charitable and campaign reform circles, to head the fund. It could be tough duty.

It's not clear that there's an effective, working model for the kind of privately funded election endowment Perdue envisions. And might not big donors, assuming they can be found, still be seen as seeking influence?

Finally, even after all the slime spread about in the Perdue-Pat McCrory campaign, should negative campaigning really be off limits? In such a high-stakes race, criticizing an opponent's record or qualifications isn't necessarily a disservice to voters, even if it does make for painful TV watching.

Fortunately that wasn't the case in the publicly funded contest for state insurance commissioner. Hardly a negative word was to be heard as Democrat Wayne Goodwin (who won) and Republican John Odom squared off on the issues, using less than $500,000 each in a combination of public (mostly) and private financing. Notably, the campaign money raised from industries regulated by the commissioner fell from 66 percent in 2004 to 5 percent this year.

That's the particular advantage of public financing in Council of State offices. Candidates for these posts, especially insurance and labor commissioners and state treasurer, have relied on money from industries or interests they interact with. Often, industry sides with the incumbent, and a perception that influence is for sale can't be denied.

So public financing can be a force for change, as well as for good government.

This year's two other tests of public financing in Council of State races produced murkier results. Incumbent Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson, a Democrat who took public funds, beat Republican Richard Morgan, who didn't. Incumbent Republican Auditor Les Merritt accepted public funding but was defeated by a Democratic candidate who didn't, Beth Wood.

(Wood's case is unusual: she used public funding for the primary election, but did not qualify for it for the general. Why? She came up a mere $250 short of the $29,975 required in qualifying funds. Too bad she didn't find someone to donate that final $250.)

Still, with the success of public financing in judicial races -- it's real progress that appellate court candidates don't have to hit up lawyers for money -- and for insurance commissioner, it's clear that more offices should be covered.