Register-Herald: Public financing of court races gains strength

"CHARLESTON — Using tax dollars to finance races for the West Virginia Supreme Court is preferable to candidates raking in millions from special interests in a “dialing for dollars” atmosphere that raises suspicions of tainted justice. Such was the thrust of a survey taken for the Washington-based Justice at Stake Campaign and disclosed Monday at the Capitol. In the last decade, Bert Brandenburg, the campaign’s executive director said, candidates for Supreme Court races across America generated some $206 million. Noncandidate groups spent at least $40 million extra, he told reporters, as Senate Judiciary Chairman Jeffrey Kessler, D-Marshall, prepared to take up a pilot public financing bill." Click here to read more.