Letter: Campaign reform bill masks where the money comes from

Thursday, May 15, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

The SUN insightfully reported that the amendment to stop negative campaigning is really a "poison pill" designed to stop campaign finance reform. Majority Leady Bill Raggio's controversial amendment has absolutely nothing to do with campaign finance reform.

If he were sincere about cleaning up negative campaigns, he would have introduced a separate bill addressing that issue. He would not tack it onto an existing bill as a mere afterthought. We agree with Secretary of State Dean Heller, who said in the SUN article, "I do have to question whether this is an amendment to kill the bill."

Why would Sen. Raggio want to kill a bill that would identify donors to legislative campaigns? What does he have to hide? Is the party caucus slush fund that he controls accepting money from sources he would rather not reveal? Does the hidden cash come from the nuclear waste industry or special interests that are bidding on state contracts? We don't know.

We do know that 60 percent of the money for legislative races -- more than $4 million -- is kept secret. Nobody spends $4 million without wanting something in return.

The citizens of Nevada have a right to know who is trying to financially influence our lawmakers. The campaign finance reform bill requires disclosure. The bill should be passed without amendments.

Paul R. Brown, Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada