REFORM: PETITION DRIVE LAUNCHED TO LIMIT CAMPAIGN GIFTS

During his eight years as Missouri Secretary of State, Roy Blunt urged state lawmakers to enact legislation to limit contributions to political candidates from individuals and PACs as about half of the other states have done.

Blunt left office in January after losing a primary race for governor, but he has not abandoned his desire to limit contributions. He formed a bi-partisan coalition that will soon begin a petition drive aimed at putting a measure before voters in 1994.

On Monday, Blunt, who is chairman of the newly formed Missourians for Fair Elections, held a press conference in Cape Girardeau to announce the effort.

He was accompanied in Cape Girardeau by Sandy McClure of Springfield, state director of United We Stand America. Cape Girardeau was the first of six statewide stops.

At the second stop in St. Louis, they were joined by former state Treasurer James I. Spainhower, a Democrat, and Greg Upchurch, chairman of the recently successful Missouri Limited Terms Amendments campaign.

McClure, Spainhower and Upchurch are serving as co-chairs of the campaign.

"Taxpayers and potential voters have too often become mere spectators watching the political action committees and rich special interests buying votes and elections," said Blunt. "People want and deserve better.

"As secretary of state, I first proposed contribution limits to the General Assembly in 1986. I am convinced this is one job the General Assembly is not likely to do."

He pointed out that PACs give roughly $9 to incumbents for every $1 given to challengers, and that half of all money contributed to Missouri House candidates last year were from political action committees.

"PACs want to give money to people they think will win so they can gain access to them," added Blunt.

Blunt, who is now president of Southwest Baptist College in Bolivar, termed the movement "a citizen effort for fair elections in our state."

McClure stressed that she feels citizens are very much aware of the problems of large contributions on the political system and want changes made.

"I am so delighted to be a part of a non-partisan alliance; that's what this is all about," said McClure. "We feel strongly that campaign finance reform is the major first step in taking control of our government, but at the state and federal levels."

Blunt explained the group will hold public hearings to consider ways to limit the size of campaign contributions over the next few weeks before finalizing the exact wording for the ballot initiative. A hearing is planned in Cape Girardeau on June 22 at 7 p.m. at the University Center Program Lounge.

Blunt stressed that he and Spainhower's support for this measure had nothing to do with past experience in campaigns, when they were outspent in primary races for governor. "This is not about my campaign or our experiences; it's what we ought to do as a state," said Blunt.

He complained that candidates for public office are forced to spend too much time raising money, and since there is no limit to what you can get from one individual or group, there is distrust of the whole system by the public.

Said Blunt: "Any time people don't have confidence in the process, everybody in the process is affected by it."

Missourians For Fair Elections will not focus on anything except contribution limits. Blunt explained that previous court decisions have made it clear that initiative petitions that are too broad are not constitutional.

"This is our single focus," said Blunt. "We are very focused on contribution limits to candidates to try and level the playing field for fair elections."

The group is staying clear of limiting campaign spending because court decisions have stated such laws violate the constitution. The way to have spending limits is by providing incentives with public financing, something both McClure and Blunt want no part of.

Blunt said the amount of money a candidate spends should not make a difference; the problem is when a few individuals give the bulk of the money to a candidate. He noted that raising $1 million from one million people shows broad based support, but if half of that comes from one person, that is improper.

He added that legislators could at some point come back and deal with the overall spending issue if they wanted to. Other issues related to campaign finance reform could also be dealt with by the Missouri Ethics Commission or the legislature.

Campaign contribution limits are already in force for the U.S. House and Senate. The plan proposed by Missourians For Fair Elections would apply to candidates for all other offices in the state, from local races to statewide races.