As Governor of Texas, George W. Bush has appointed several of his major contributors to the University s Board of Regents. In 1998, the Seattle Times noted that all three of Gov. Gary Locke s picks for the University s Board of Regents were contributors to his campaign. The list goes on. Just like ambassadorships, it appears that campaign cash, not achievement, is the surest path to becoming a regent at a university. Good people can't run for office on equal turf.
Candidates spend too much time chasing campaign contributions.
Political campaigns cost too much and last too long. The goal of comprehensive campaign finance reform should be to provide a campaign finance system that reduces the influence of special interests and their money and creates a level playing field so all good, qualified candidates can run for office. The goal of real reform is to diversify how Congress and state legislatures look, to make our elected bodies more representative of the public as a whole. No more money chase. No more special interest influence.