Clean money campaign bill up tomorrow

The backers of AB 583, by Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, held a press call this morning to discuss the fate of the bill, which comes up for a hearing in the Senate Elections committee tomorrow. Susan Lerner, the executive director of the California Clean Money Campaign, said she was "cautiously optimistic about the bill’s progress" and that “still something subject to amendment and improvement." The committee is a major hurdle for the legislation. Trent Lange, vice president of the California Clean Money Campaign, announced the results of a study the organization has commissioned on the interplay of money and politics in California. He said that the legislative candidate with the most money in 2002 and 2004 won 95 percent of the time. Looking at open seat primaries, in which there is no natural incumbent, the statistics were similar. The highest spender won 93 percent of those races, as well. The result, Lange said, showed "a dominant effect of money in campaigns."