Editor’s note: This commentary is by Brad Peacock, of Shaftsbury, who is an independent candidate for U.S. Senate in November. He is a farmer at Clear Brook Farm in Shaftsbury, where he was born, raised and has spent most of his life, and where he now lives with his husband. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and a graduate of the University of Vermont.
As many of you are aware, one of the most corrupt aspects of our election system today is money in politics. Campaign finance reform is desperately needed on a national level, but much of Congress has proven to be complicit in this corruption. Elected officials from both parties take obscene amounts of money from corporations and wealthy individuals while we (the people they are meant to represent) are left to believe this has no influence over their decision-making once in Congress.
Since the disastrous Citizens United decision in 2010 we have seen the erosion of transparency and accountability in our election system. Super PACs and PACs have been set up to support candidates without having to disclose their donors, while billions of dollars have been spent by corporate America to buy its way into our government for power and influence over the laws and policies that affect us all.
We must do more to rid the political process of candidates who take money from Super PACs, PACs and corporations. Work as an elected official is public service, which is an honor that should not be taken lightly, and that means your loyalty should be to the people you represent. By now we know that Congress as a whole does not have the will to implement any new laws regarding campaign finance reform, so it is up to us, the electors, to step in and make our voices heard.
If we are ever going to change our political system, we should not be electing anyone to office who takes any money from corporations, PACs or Super PACs. I commend Sen. Bernie Sanders for leading the way on this issue, but I have noticed that he too is now taking PAC money. This is worrisome to me and many of the Vermonters I have spoken with. Not because I believe he is bought by anyone, or corporations, but because when we start selecting which PACs are “good,” we not only begin to lose our credibility on the issue of campaign finance reform, we lose the argument. Therefore, I am calling on Sen. Sanders to recommit to a no PAC, Super PAC or corporate donor model. I am also proposing to Sen. Sanders a new way forward on campaign finance reform for this general election, and hopefully all subsequent elections in Vermont. I do not believe in raising and spending hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars to win a Senate seat.
Sen. Sanders and I, along with any of the other candidates in this Senate race, have an opportunity to create a positive, transformational model of reform for the rest of the country. I am a strong advocate for a public financing system for all federal candidates, but since we do not currently have that in place for U.S. Senate candidates in Vermont, we must come up with our own spending caps to ensure a fair system that enables anyone the chance to run for office.
I have sent a letter to Sen. Sanders proposing the following: a $225,000 cap on spending for the general election. This figure is in line with the Vermont public financing system set up for gubernatorial candidates. Furthermore, I propose the progressive idea of putting a price on incumbency. Therefore, I believe the incumbent, Sen. Sanders in this case, should only be able to spend 85 percent of the $225,000 in the general election, totaling $191,250. I believe this to be a fair system that acknowledges the immense power, organization and monetary advantages an incumbent has.
I believe we should not be spending any more money than this to be in public service. I believe this ensures we will get more access to the candidates. With limits on financing, they will have to be more engaged with the people of Vermont, showing up, answering questions and listening to the concerns of voters, instead of blanketing the airwaves and mailboxes with advertising. For me, this is still an insane amount of money to be spending on an election, when so many organizations and people are struggling, so my guarantee to the people of Vermont is this: I will spend the least amount of money possible, while still running an effective grassroots campaign.
I believe Sen. Sanders to be an honorable man, and I truly hope he will seriously consider and commit to this proposal. It is not good enough to simply talk continuously about campaign finance reform without taking bold action. It is time all elected officials start to lead by example and show Vermonters and the rest of the country that we are committed to a new way forward.
