Statement On Presidential Nominations to FEC

We are pleased that President Obama has begun the process of nominating FEC Commissioners to fill the one vacant seat and the five expired seats on the Commission.

From what we know, Ann Ravel, head of the California Fair Political Practices Commission, has been an outstanding leader in the area of campaign finance oversight and enforcement.  Ann Ravel has led an effort in California to shed light on secret money in California elections and has demonstrated a commitment to effective enforcement of campaign finance disclosure laws.  She is an excellent choice for the FEC.

We are not familiar with the record of Lee Goodman, but we hope he will bring a stronger commitment to the effective administration and enforcement of the campaign finance laws than his predecessor, Don McGahn, who has consistently worked to undermine the law and has repeatedly opposed efforts to enforce the campaign finance laws.

We urge President Obama to move promptly to fill the remaining four expired seats on the FEC with Commissioners who are committed to effective enforcement of the law.

The FEC is a failed, broken agency that has been entirely dysfunctional for the last several years. The agency has a long way to go to establish credibility as a real campaign finance enforcement agency and only time will tell whether that is going to happen.

The process of fixing the FEC needs to begin with President Obama nominating and the Senate confirming a full, new complement of six Commissioners. We need six Commissioners who are committed to carrying out the campaign finance laws as enacted by Congress and interpreted by the Courts and who can move beyond the gridlock that has paralyzed the agency.  We hope today’s nominations prove to be an important first step in accomplishing that goal.