ALBANY - Advocates of overhauling New York’s campaign fund-raising laws met with 40 philanthropists in Manhattan on Thursday in an effort to enlist additional supporters as they ramp up their lobbying efforts.
The state attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, a Democrat who has moved to force the disclosure of more political donors, was among those who spoke to the group, and the Senate Democratic leader, Andrea Stewart-Cousins of Westchester County, addressed the gathering via video from Albany. The audience included representatives from the Kohlberg Foundation, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Open Society Foundations, which were founded by the billionaire financier George Soros.
The meeting was organized by the Piper Fund, which awards grants to support sate and national groups working on changing how campaigns are financed. The gathering came as supporters of setting up a system of public financing for state elections prepare to push for legislation to be enacted in this year’s session, which began last week and runs through June.
“New York would be by far the biggest victory to date,†said Marc Caplan, the senior program officer for the Piper Fund. “It’s the No. 1 priority for national organizations interested in fighting money in politics, and to the growing number of philanthropists who are interested in issue.â€
A number of wealthy individuals have already started organizations to support the effort. They include one of Mr. Soros’s sons, Jonathan Soros, who attended Thursday’s meeting, and Sean Eldridge, an investor and political activist. The push in Albany is also being undertaken by a coalition that includes labor unions, progressive organizations, government reform groups and the Working Families Party.
The biggest opposition in Albany to using public money for political campaigns comes from Republican state senators. But Republicans lost seats in the last election and now have only partial control of the chamber; advocates of public financing hope that an independent faction of Democrats who share control of the Senate with the Republicans will force consideration of the issue in this year’s session.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, also gave attention to the issue in his State of the State address on Jan. 9. He called for the state to adopt a system similar to the one used in New York City, where candidates can receive public matching funds in exchange for agreeing to spending limits. “It works well in New York City,†he said. “It will work well in New York State.â€
Supporters of public financing of political campaigns are also celebrating the swearing-in of Senator Cecilia F. Tkaczyk, a Democrat who last week emerged as the winner of the last undecided state legislative race. Her campaign focused in large part on her support of public financing, which the Republican candidate opposed.
Jonathan Soros and Mr. Eldridge, who waged an independent-expenditure campaign to support Ms. Tkaczyk, interpreted her victory as evidence of ! the momen! tum for changing how campaigns are financed.
