Will NYC campaign law be next to fall
By Bradley A. Smith
Last week, the Supreme Court struck down an Arizona law that subsidized political candidates’ campaigns based on amounts spent by their unsubsidized challengers. The ruling poses serious problems for New York City’s government subsidies to campaigns.
Yes, the city Campaign Finance Board rushed out a statement asserting that the city’s program is fine, and noting its differences from the Arizona system. But New York may still violate some key principles the court outlined.
The case involved an Arizona law under which candidates got a government subsidy in exchange for limiting campaign spending. If an opponent chose not to take the subsidy, the state matched outlays by the opponent that exceeded the subsidy.
