Bribery need not be overt: Reform needed for campaign donations
The monomaniacal, scorched-earth campaign by one Jackson woman against affordable housing hit a new low last week.
The Republican activist — an unregistered lobbyist masquerading at the Legislature as a “journalist” with a media pass — handed out $1,500 checks for campaign donations on the House floor. The checks were delivered on behalf of another donor, and it appears the activist used them to compel lawmakers to support House Bill 141. This legislation, which she repeatedly has spearheaded, would gut a key housing program in Jackson and Teton County.
The leader of the so-called Wyoming Freedom Caucus said handing out checks in such a manner would constitute bribery, and the Laramie County sheriff rightly has launched an investigation to see if a crime occurred. Lawmakers also unanimously called for their own investigation.
Her actions are deplorable, embarrassing for Teton County and embarrassing for the state of Wyoming. And they detract from the important work of the Legislature in passing a budget for the next two years.
Even if the investigations find that no laws have been broken, this stunt helped clarify how most legislators and constituents feel: Bribery has no place in the Capitol. Leave the campaigning outside the doors of the People’s House, and focus on the creation of laws that benefit the people and lands of this great state.
Gov. Mark Gordon took strong action Tuesday to prevent even the appearance of impropriety. Gordon issued an executive order banning campaign donations on state property, but the ban does not apply in areas controlled by the Legislature, including the floors. He called the legislative chambers “hallowed places for doing the People’s business, and should never serve as a campaign headquarters.”
It’s past time for Wyoming to join the 28 states that have placed restrictions on giving and receiving campaign contributions during the legislative session. Fifteen states — most of them conservative, including neighboring Utah — prohibit any contributions during the session, and another 13 bar lobbyists from doing so.
This isn’t the first time such a transgression has occurred in Cheyenne. The flood of money from unregulated campaign donations is a national malaise that begs for redress. If the latest incident has done anything, it has brought the problem clearly into view for Wyomingites and highlighted the need for immediate action.
The Legislature should take Gov. Gordon’s action a step further by codifying the ban into law and expanding it to include all of the Capitol and all types of campaign donations — online, by mail or in person — during the session.
It’s worth noting that the donor who wrote the checks, also a Teton County resident, did not intend for them to be distributed in that manner, and made the donations because he supports conservative politics and lower taxes. His intention is both reasonable and prudent.
The housing policy in question, known as mitigation, was adopted 30 years ago in response to repeated pleas from the community, especially among business-minded conservatives, to require commercial developers to offset at least part of the impact of their development. If a development such as a hotel is going to generate the need for more housing for workers, that cost shouldn’t be borne solely by the public, citizens said.
If the town and county lose the ability to require mitigation for the impacts of commercial development, they’ll have no choice but to raise taxes. Since its inception in 1995, the mitigation program has produced 442 of the 1,624 homes restricted as “affordable” or “workforce” in Jackson and Teton County.
For the numerous Teton County donors writing campaign checks to legislators who oppose local control, it would be wise to consider whether destroying a time-proven housing solution could backfire and ultimately cost them more. Killing housing mitigation that supports so many vital employees certainly would cost the community dearly.