Moreland Commission Co-Chair Says He Supports Public Financing of Campaigns

The Syracuse Post-Standard writes about a recent public radio interview with Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, who is serving as one of the three co-chairs of Moreland Commission to investigate Public Corruption.

Perhaps the biggest news coming out of the interview is Fitzpatrick saying that, as a result of his work on the Moreland Commission, he is now a proponent of public financing of political campaigns. He said that he believes that putting such a system in place would ultimately save the state money.

A few other items of note that from the interview with D.A. Fitzpatrick:

• the Moreland Commission is likely to recommend an independent election law enforcement agency – something outside of the State Board of Elections;
• he expressed surprise at what is commonly known as the “LLC loophole,” under which LLC’s are treated as individuals for campaign finance purposes; and
• he cited the common practice of “unspecified reimbursements” for political expenses, which allows political money to spent on virtually anything.

He also said that the Commission panel has identified criminal wrongdoing, and that it will make a referral to the appropriate county District Attorney.

The Moreland Commission is due to make its first round of findings and recommendations by Dec. 1.

Listen to the full interview with D.A. Fitzpatrick here.