NEW YORK —The Green Party of New York (GPNY) said today's meeting of the Public Campaign Financing Commission, empaneled by the Governor and Legislature, has the opportunity to propose urgently-needed reforms to broaden and strengthen democracy in New York. GPNY officers stated they “support a system of full public campaign financing, broader than had been proposed by the Governor,” and the “banning of fusion.” Party officers also promised their members will express support of these reforms to the commission. 

"New York needs a system of full public campaign financing like Maine's,” said GPNY Co-Chair Gloria Mattera. “The matching funds system proposed by the Governor, with its high donation threshold to participate, was designed to aid incumbents and mostly exclude third party and independent candidates who rely on grassroots support. Commission members have a chance to broaden democracy and limit the corruption epidemic in New York by putting forth a bold system of full public campaign financing based on the support of community members, not the donor class," said Mattera.

The Commission has the power to propose sweeping reforms to both campaign finance and election law that will become law in December unless the Legislature moves to alter their proposal. 

"The Commission has an open door to ban fusion in New York, a step the Green Party would welcome,” said GPNY Co-Chair Peter LaVenia. “Banning fusion would eliminate the confusion and corruption created by patronage parties selling their line to Democrats and Republicans, and would have the added benefit of essentially eliminating opportunity-to-ballot” continued LaVenia, citing the obscure mechanism through which political machines can seize the ballot lines of developing parties with only a few signatures and primary votes. “Eliminating fusion would create clarity and trust at the ballot box and would encourage candidates to run with a coherent platform and a party that actually shares their values," concluded LaVenia. “That’s what parties are supposed to be for, and that’s what New York deserves.”