Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.) withdrew his nomination for Commerce Secretary on Sunday amid some possible pay-to-play with his fundraisers. With one gubernatorial scandal in Illinois already, this isn't surprising.  It appears that Richardson may have awarded $1.4 million in state contracts in exchange for $100,000 in donations to his campaigns. Whether there was quid pro quo remains to be seen, but the perception is there. And as we’ve been saying, that’s part of the problem. Citizens feel that their representatives are being sold to the highest bidder. According to Common Cause New Mexico Executive Director Steve Allen:“We’re one of just a handful of states that don’t even have campaign contribution limits. Whether or not Richardson did something overtly illegal, the truth is that our campaign financing system is corrupt and needs to be dramatically reformed,” Allen told the Independent. “I do see this as an opportunity for the governor to push campaign finance reforms, including an expansion of public campaign financing to statewide executive offices, to the very top of his priorities for the upcoming session.”The state legislature only needs to look at Albuquerque for its answer. Last week, two candidates for mayor of Albuquerque announced that they plan to use the city’s Clean Elections system for their race. Both Councilman Michael Cadigan and former New Mexico Senate President Pro Tem Richard Romero have announced that they plan to use public financing for their bids. Romero published in op-ed in the Albuquerque Journal last week urging support for Clean Elections at the federal level:Voters sent powerful interest groups several messages with the election of Barack Obama. Yes, we want change. But to sustain that wave of change we said we want leaders who interact with and listen to the community, leaders who know our concerns, challenges and hopes.       Our Congress and the new president will have much to accomplish come January. Passing Clean Elections reform will help ensure that average voters — not big campaign donors — will be the constituents they serve.With so much money flowing into campaign coffers, there will always be the appearance of corruption. Fortunately, in Albuquerque, some politicians are showing others that there is a better way.