The case of Vladimir Golovan should remind everyone that taxpayer-financed elections are no more than welfare for politicians. Both the social welfare system for the poor and corporate welfare for business have spawned plenty of fraud and wasted tax dollars, so it should not be surprising that Portland's "voter-owned elections" bred its own version of the welfare queen.
While it would be easy to blame Golovan and Emilie Boyles as bad apples in an otherwise good bunch, juror Mary Ann Pastene recognized that the system is inherently flawed when she said, "A lot of us felt like the city was at fault for a lot of it." Welfare for politicians doesn't just draw scam artists looking to steal from taxpayers, it also takes taxpayer dollars away from more important priorities.
SEAN PARNELL President, Center for Competitive Politics Arlington, Va.
(oregonlive.com)
