The San Diego Clean Elections campaign has been going on for some time but in the last few years it has come remarkably close to success. Clean Elections would offer a public funding option to candidates running for council seats in the City of San Diego and thus eliminate the troubling influence of private money.
In 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, an effort to put the Clean Elections initiative on the ballot fell just short of approval by city council. Another effort is now underway to qualify the initiative for the 2024 election. Only the naive and the new born are unaware of the pressure that money exerts in the political process and the huge negative effect that it has on real democracy.
It’s time for Clean Elections.
Mark Linsky – Mark taught Political Science at San Diego City College for thirty years and has recently retired. Before teaching he held administrative positions with the City of San Diego including assignment to the mayor’s office where he co-wrote a study on crime and criminal behavior. He was a member of the Pacific Beach Democratic Club many years ago and is delighted to be back with the group