4

Why Thrive LA supports 4

Proposition 4 repeals a 1988 voter-approved ban that currently prevents most California state and local governments from using public funds to finance candidates' election campaigns. It does not create any public financing program on its own. It simply removes the prohibition so that future legislatures, city councils, and county boards can establish such programs if they choose. Thrive LA supports Proposition 4 because the current ban creates a two-tiered system that benefits large charter cities at the expense of smaller communities. Los Angeles, San Francisco, Long Beach, Oakland, and Berkeley already operate public campaign financing programs because charter cities are exempt from the 1988 prohibition. Every other city, county, and the state itself is locked out. That means candidates in smaller and mid-sized cities across California have no local option to reduce dependence on large donors or special-interest bundlers, even if their voters want one. Repealing the ban levels the playing field and returns the decision to local communities where it belongs. Public financing, properly designed, can reduce the outsized influence of public-sector unions, developer lobbyists, and activist organizations on local elections. When candidates can qualify for matching funds by demonstrating broad-based small-dollar support, they are less beholden to the narrow interests that currently dominate city hall fundraising. The measure includes explicit guardrails: no funds earmarked for education, transportation, or public safety can be redirected to campaign financing, and candidates must meet eligibility thresholds before receiving any public dollars. The direct state cost is modest, limited to a few hundred thousand dollars annually for Fair Political Practices Commission guidance. There is a legitimate concern that future legislatures could design bloated programs without spending caps or sunset provisions. That risk is real. But the answer is vigilance over future program design, not a blanket prohibition that entrenches the advantage of charter cities and leaves the rest of California's local governments with no tools to diversify their candidate pipelines. Proposition 4 opens a door. What matters is what communities build on the other side. Proposition 4 is a reasonable, narrowly scoped reform that returns local control to local voters.