NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Jan Fiderio at 603.283.2107 or Abigail Abrash Walton at 603.283.2344

July 1, 2008 for Immediate Release

Antioch University New England Educator Appointed to NH State Commission on Public Funding of Elections

Keene, NH - New Hampshire Senate president Sylvia Larsen has appointed Abigail Abrash Walton, faculty member at Antioch University New England in the Environmental Advocacy and Organizing Program, to serve on the state's newly established Public Funding of Elections Commission.

As a commissioner, Abrash Walton and her six fellow commissioners will develop recommendations for how voluntary public funding of elections could work in New Hampshire. They will focus on public financing of campaigns for the state offices of governor, executive council and senate through means that are not reliant on the state's general fund. The commission must submit recommendations to the New Hampshire legislature by the end of this December.

The New Hampshire legislature established the Public Funding of Elections Commission through its passage of HB 794. The New Hampshire House passed this legislation in January and the Senate in late March. Many call HB 794 the “Granny D” law due to the support of long-time campaign reform advocate and Dublin, New Hampshire, resident Doris “Granny D” Haddock. Joining Abrash Walton on the commission will be former state senator Jim Rubens, Concord-based attorneys Martin Honigberg and Brad Cook, Demos democracy program director Stuart Comstock-Gay and John Rauh, director of Americans for Campaign Reform. The remaining appointment has not yet been made.

The state of Maine already has a similar voluntary public funding system in place, as do Arizona and Connecticut. A study completed last year by Maine's Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices found that Maine's Clean Elections Act “has had a positive effect in encouraging financially competitive races.”

“I am honored to serve the state of New Hampshire as a commissioner,” said Abrash Walton. “During the past decade, the cost of running for certain state offices has skyrocketed to exorbitant levels, and this commission is a great first step in addressing that trend by leveling the playing field for qualified candidates.” According to Abrash Walton, voluntary public funding allows candidates who qualify for campaign support to run competitive races, to spend more campaign time hearing directly from voters about their concerns, interests, aspirations and ideas, and to spend less time courting the big special-interest money (much of it from out of state) that these races have increasingly required. In addition, says Abrash Walton, public funding can reduce the average cost of campaigns and any candidate who prefers to run without public funding may do so.

About Abigail Abrash Walton
Abigail received a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.Sc. in Political Theory from the London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Government. In addition to teaching at Antioch University New England, Abigail Abrash Walton, a resident of Keene, is principal and founder of ActionWorks, a public interest consulting firm. Her past positions include service as program director for New Hampshire Citizens Alliance, a statewide membership organization that advances social, economic and political justice issues, and as program director for the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights in Washington, D.C. Prior to moving to New Hampshire, Abigail was a Visiting Fellow at Harvard Law School's Human Rights Program. Abigail has served as a commentator on a variety of human rights issues for media outlets including The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The New York Times, National Public Radio and “The News Hour with Jim Lehrer.” She serves on the board of directors of the Papua-based Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy and is Vice-Chair of the Papua Resource Center. She was a founding board member of Project Underground, a human rights organization that supports communities resisting mining and oil exploitation.

About Antioch's Department of Environmental Studies and its Environmental Advocacy and Organizing Program: AUNE's Department of Environmental Studies has a thirty-year history of delivering visionary, progressive, and interdisciplinary programs aimed at helping students solve some of today's complex environmental challenges. The department offers multiple masters programs and a doctoral level program. It is also the only graduate program in the United States to offer a master's program in Environmental Advocacy and Organizing. The goal of the advocacy and organizing program is to train effective public interest advocates and grassroots organizers

About Antioch University New England
Antioch University New England, based in Keene, New Hampshire, offers rigorous, practice-oriented, values-based Master's Doctoral and certificate programs to more than one thousand students. Programs in education, leadership and management, environmental studies, and psychology reflect a dedication to activism, social justice, community service, and sustainability.

Information Requests
For more information, please contact Jan Fiderio at (603) 283-2107 or Abigail Abrash Walton at 603.283.2344. Visit the AUNE web site.

Last Updated: 3/4/10