Masachusetts state representative Jamie Eldridge (D) spoke about the merits of a campaign finance law in front of nearly 50 students and local activists in the Shapiro Campus Center last Wednesday. Eldridge, who was invited by three political campus clubs, argued that only the public financing of elections would ensure that politicians have the opportunity to communicate honestly with voters during campaigns. Massachusetts first enacted a public campaign financing law in 1998 after it was approved in a referendum, but the state legislature repealed it in 2003 because of disagreements and uncertainty about its funding.

The law allocated public funding to candidates running for state office in Massachussetts who accepted voluntary spending limits, and was financed by the State Legislature's appropriation of tax revenue.

Eldridge said the law had a significant impact on his first congressional campaign in 2002, when he ran as a Legal Aid lawyer earning $28,000 a year facing candidates twice his age and with access to more money.

"I could not have won without the clean elections law," he said. "Without [the law], I wouldn't have had the resources to get out campaign literature [and] to hire a campaign manager."

He explained that because of the law, it wasn't necessary for him to host fundraisers or to spend time on the phone with donors. "I was spending all my time going door-to-door," he said. "I went through about three pairs of shoes."

That personal contact won Eldridge the election, he said. However, he explained that the political process "is not this great glamorous thing where you talk about the great issues."

Eldridge also argued that private financing gives voters an inaccurate impression of politicians.

"It creates the appearance of corruption [and] the appearance of impropriety," he said. "Almost every one of those [state] legislators is not corrupt."

Eldridge said, however, that politicians who believe they are receiving favors from donors "feel naturally inclined" to please them. "[Private campaign financing] moves you away from your principles," he said.

Eldridge also visited the campus last March. He pointed out that Brandeis' chapter of Democracy For America was the first chapter of the national organization to endorse him in the Democratic primary of the special election for the fifth Massachusetts congressional district this fall.

"Clean elections was what drew me to support Jamie Elridge five years ago," said David Emer '09, president of the Brandeis Democrats, after the speech. Emer worked as a regional field director on Eldridge's congressional campaign, and Eldridge described him as "one of the best grassroots organizers in New England."

Democracy Matters, a new club on campus that is seeking charter by the Student Union, advocates campaign finance reform and publicly funded elections.

Blaise Nothern '10, an audience member, said she also worked on Eldridge's campaign over the summer. "I heard a lot about this stuff . and I think Democracy Matters is a really important group, and I like that that's getting going this year on campus," she said.

Sandy Coy, a local campaign worker from Wayland, Mass., agreed.

"I'm thrilled that Brandeis has a group that is already working on [campaign finance reform]," she said.