Mayor Vetoes Bill to Expand Public Funds in Certain Races (Bloomberg)

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg vetoed a campaign finance proposal yesterday that sought to increase the amount of public money available to political candidates facing wealthy, self-financed opponents as early as next year's election.

The proposal, which was overwhelmingly approved last month by the City Council, would change the city's campaign finance system to allow certain contributions in big-spending races to be matched six to one with public funds, an increase from the current maximum of five to one.

Mayor Bloomberg, a billionaire who spent more than $73 million on his 2001 campaign, had vigorously opposed the proposal and even viewed it as a personal attack. Yesterday, he vetoed the proposal along with two other bills that would require all candidates - not just those in the campaign finance program - to report their campaign spending to city officials at the same time and prohibit them from accepting corporate contributions.

In his veto messages, Mayor Bloomberg said the proposals contained questionable provisions and represented "a missed opportunity to bring genuine improvement and reform to the city's voluntary campaign finance program."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/25/nyregion/25finance.html