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May 3, 2013

Senator Thomas F. OMara, Chair

Senator Diane SavinoNew York Senate Standing Committee on ElectionsNew York State Capitol Building

172 State StreetAlbany, NY 12247

Re: Public Hearing To examine the abuses within New York Citys taxpayer fundedpolitical campaign system and the implications for state taxpayers if the system

were to be expanded statewide

Dear Senators OMara and Savino:

We write on behalf of the Brennan Center for Justice at N.Y.U. School of Law, the Center for

Working Families, Citizen Action of New York, Common Cause/New York, and NYPIRG torequest that we be permitted to testify at the public hearing on New York Citys public campaign

system that the Elections Committee will hold at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 7th, 2013.

In the public announcement for this hearing, Senator OMara rightly noted that its important tobe as deliberate and as thorough as possible in examining the potential benefits and pitfalls of

comprehensive campaign finance reform, and that the New York City experience with public

financing deserves a close look before implementing a similar system at the state level.

We could not agree more. Our organizations have studied campaign finance systems in New

York City, New York State, and across the country, and are widely recognized as experts onissues relating to money in politics and public corruption. In particular, our groups have

extensively studied the impact that New York Citys 25-year-old campaign finance system hashad on the rampant and systemic corruption that pervaded the City in the 1980s. And we have

been active in advocating for New York State to respond to the recent wave of corruption

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scandals by enacting comprehensive campaign finance reform with a small donor system ofpublic financing at its core.

Given our organizations collective expertise on the subject of the May 7th public hearing, we

respectfully request the opportunity to participate and present testimony. We strongly believe

that our expertise would assist the members of the committee in developing a fullerunderstanding of the issues presented; conversely, excluding testimony from our groups willprevent the committee from receiving a well-rounded, full airing of views on the issues of

corruption and campaign finance reform. Ideally, all interested New Yorkers should be given theopportunity to testify before a Senate hearing on campaign finance.

Respectfully Submitted,

Lawrence NordenBrennan Center for Justice

David Palmer

Center for Working Families

Jessica WisneskiCitizen Action of New York

Susan Lerner

Common Cause/New York

Bill MahoneyNYPIRG