Governments don’t have much money these days, but sometimes they don’t have much regard for people without much money either. (Unions must restructure their contracts, but AIG can keep doling out bonuses, because that’s what their contracts call for.) And people without much money can’t run for office because it takes so much money to do so.Enter the Seattle City Council, which until 1992 was elected with public financing. (That systems was scrapped by a citizen’s initiative aimed at union political spending.) The Council sent out a press release today announcing its intent to develop a proposal for public financing system to go before voters in 2010. Sally Clark, who will be heading the proposal committee, says, “Plenty of smart, qualified people would love to run, but the price tag has run so high in recent cycles that otherwise great leaders sit out. Money shouldn’t determine who runs and serves.”Every council member except for Richard McIver is quoted in the release, and all are supportive except for Bruce Harrell–who strikes a note of indecision–and Jean Godden, who says she’s behind the idea, but maybe not until the economy improves. Once again, we’re following the example of Portland, whose own transition to publicly-financed elections had some hiccups. And Seattle had publicly financed city elections until W voters passed an initiative targeted at union spending in 1992.