Legislature 2008: Campaign Finance

Come January, the West Virginia Council of Churches plans to resume its push for the public financing of legislative campaigns, The Register-Herald of Beckley reports.

“We think our legislators, or people who run for office, are so tied down by the need to get money that that becomes such an emphasis that they can’t focus on the issues and really listen to their constituents, the voters," Rev. Dennis Sparks, the group's executive director, tells the newspaper.

Roadblocks will include Delegate Kelli Sobonya. "I don’t want my tax dollars paying for, say, Al Gore to run for president. It’s ridiculous," the Cabell County Republican said.

(While it's not exactly tax dollars, presidential candidates have had access to public funding since 1976.)