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| - Statement about Legislative Reform at a Hearing in Pittsburgh on April 19, 2007 From Mark Rauterkus, vice-chair, Allegheny County Libertarian Party, standing for public office in 2007, again. 108 South 12th Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203 Mark@Rauterkus.com Buzz of reform for our political landscape is welcomed. However, it is small step from new reforms to being deformed. The political body is frail. A hyper charged reform agenda could kill our democratic process just as a marathon could kills a frail E.R. Patient.
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| abstract
| - Statement about Legislative Reform at a Hearing in Pittsburgh on April 19, 2007 From Mark Rauterkus, vice-chair, Allegheny County Libertarian Party, standing for public office in 2007, again. 108 South 12th Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203 Mark@Rauterkus.com Buzz of reform for our political landscape is welcomed. However, it is small step from new reforms to being deformed. The political body is frail. A hyper charged reform agenda could kill our democratic process just as a marathon could kills a frail E.R. Patient. I prefer a different sequence. Talk is good and cheap. But reform might be best kept on the back burner. First we should 'replace.' Then we should 're-direct.' Finally, we should ' reform.' We need to replace the selfish, corrupt, less-than-truthful politicians that have been power grabbing and are in office today with a different breed of citizen. We need pragmatic people to serve who understand the constitution and liberty. Those that have made this mess are often the least likely to clean it up. The replacement process and the revolution at the ballot box has begun. Incumbents have lost races. New faces with new values and priorities have arrived. More is needed before I want to dive headlong into reforms. I served on a committee devoted to the study of campaign finance reform for local government established by Bill Peduto of Pgh's City Council a few years ago. Great people worked diligently on difficult issues and our work product has not seen the light of day – yet. It is coming soon, so I've been promised. Let's sustain these discussions in various settings. Consider my presence as it confounds typical 'campaign finance reform legislation.' I'm presently standing for five public offices including Allegheny County Chief Executive, County Council, Mayor, City Controller and City Council. If, for example, a $2,000 spending or income cap is placed on the candidate for one race, what about me, now, as I'm in five races. Or, Dan Onorato has $1.5 million in the bank from County Executive dealings that can be leveraged into a governor's race. I'm a coach. I've coached at the NCAA Division I level for six years. The rulebook when I began my coaching career was only two inches thick. Today's rulebook is massive. Annual changes are made to the rules. Enforcement is a major headache. Here is the gist of the challenge. No matter what rules you establish, creative people can always be ahead of the rules. I can out-flank any rulebook you design. Coaches do this all the time. The rulebook has to evolve at break-neck speeds to keep up – in a field where rules, like laws, are very important. This makes a rat-race where everyone looses – except, perhaps, the lawyers. PA Political Reform needs to avoid those same traps. This is a philosophical that can ground you and this effort like the “north star” directed viking ships. Things need to be done. But, we do need to guard that the wrong things are not done. Favor liberty, freedom, more information, openness. By and large, Libertarians don't like term limits. But, I'd take term limits as a remedial step. But I don't want freshmen legislators hoodwinked so term limits are a further concentration of power with some back room wire pullers. Above all, you must fix ballot access. It is crazy that I'm striving to get 10,000 eligible voters in Allegheny County to sign this petition for to get onto the ballot and be certain that they used their middle initial. You should not talk about another issue – ever – until you have sensible ballot access. Elections need to be fair, as set forth in the constitution. We don't have a ballot clutter problem. This is EVERYONE's worry. Our democratic process for candidates is a mess. I can present a long list of insights as to what I'd do to make changes in these regards. But the ballot-access coalition is already doing a splendid job in the organization of solutions.
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