Congress candidate blasts ‘pay to play’ campaign finance

Reichard says big money has too much influence

May 26, 2016 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Democrat Richard Reichard is running against freshman Congressmember Dan Donovan, a Republican, in November. Photo courtesy of Reichard campaign

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The Democrat hoping to unseat Republican-Conservative U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan in the Nov. 8 election blasted the country’s campaign finance system, charging that the system is broken and in desperate need of reform.

In one of his first major public statements, Richard Reichard, a retired New York City Department of Finance human resources director, vowed to fight what he said is the corrupting influence of big money on politics in the wake of the controversial Citizens United decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

“I’m not running for Washington to change me, I’m running to change Washington,“ Reichard said.

Reichard, who charged that a “pay to play” system gives big donors a large say in how government operates, said he would work to overturn Citizens United and that a majority of Americans want reforms. “The American people overwhelmingly support campaign finance reform. They believe that money has too much influence in political campaigns and in our law making,” he stated.

In the landmark Citizens United vs. Federal Elections Commission case, the nation’s highest court ruled in 2010 that the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting the political contributions of nonprofit corporations.

The court’s ruling dramatically increased money’s influence on the election and legislative processes, according to Reichard, who said he would seek to overturn it with an amendment that would restore the authority of federal and state government to regulate campaign spending by individuals and groups.

“I support legislation to amend the constitution to restore Congress and states’ power to regulate and limit fundraising and campaign spending by candidates and individuals and prohibit legal entities such as corporations and heavily funded special interests from spending money to influence elections and policy,” Reichard stated.

Reichard said he is particularly appalled at the amount of time members of Congress have to spend fundraising by “dialing for dollars” from donors while in the U.S. Capitol when they are supposed to be doing the people’s business.

“While their constituents are required to devote all their workday to their employer, members of congress devote three to five hours a day while in Washington, not doing the people’s business but working the phones to raise campaign funds,” he charged.

Reichard is running against Donovan, a freshman Congress member in the 11th Congressional District. The district, which covers the entire borough of Staten Island, also comes over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to include parts of several Southwest Brooklyn neighborhoods like Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst and Gravesend.

Donovan, the former Staten Island district attorney, won the congressional seat in a special election in May of 2015.

In the Nov. 8 general election, Donovan will be running for his first full, two-year term in office. The 2015 special election as held to elect a candidate to finish the term of former Congressman Michael Grimm, a Republican-Conservative who resigned from office after he was convicted on a charge of federal tax fraud.

Since his arrival in Washington, D.C., Donovan has worked to quickly establish himself as a vital member of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The house leadership named him to two top committees, Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security, and also put him on the Congressional Caucus on Prescription Drug Abuse.

Reichard, who is a first-time candidate for public office, was endorsed by the Staten Island Democratic County Committee earlier this year. The county committee voted unanimously to endorse him, the Staten Island Advance reported. He got the nod over four other candidates hoping for the party’s nomination.