D.C. mayor, reversing course, signs law creating publicly financed campaigns

D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) has signed a law that will create publicly financed elections, reversing her previous opposition to a plan that advocates say will help curb money’s influence in District politics. 

Bowser announced that she was throwing her support behind the Fair Elections Act, which was approved unanimously by the D.C. Council in February. The law, which will first affect elections in 2020, will steer millions annually toward the campaigns of local candidates and is aimed at reducing their reliance on deep-pocketed donors. [...]

The District now joins about 30 other jurisdictions — including Montgomery County, New York City and San Francisco — with a public campaign finance system, according to Demos, a left-leaning think tank.