New Yorkers who thought Fernando Ferrer just lost the mayoral election might be surprised to hear that his campaign is still soliciting contributions. But, as our Jill Gardiner reported yesterday, Mr. Ferrer recently sent a letter to his supporters asking them to donate more money to his campaign in an effort to recover from a bout of overspending. Taxpayers who thought they were escaping Mr. Ferrer’s clutches by voting for Mayor Bloomberg take note: The donations Mr. Ferrer collects now could still qualify for a six-to-one public match, meaning that for every $1 a true believer ponies up, skeptical taxpayers – including poor people – would be forced by law to contribute $6 toward relieving Mr. Ferrer’s debts.

Under the campaign financing program in question, Mr. Ferrer can leverage every $1 in donations from individual New Yorkers up to $250 a person into $6 of additional public money, making a $250 gift worth, when all is said and done, as much as $1,750. By all accounts Mr. Ferrer could use the money; he has not released final figures yet but by one count his campaign could be $700,000 in the red. We happen to like Mr. Ferrer personally, and are sorry to see him facing such debts. But this is yet another reminder of the folly of publicly financed campaigns. The Campaign Finance Board has already disbursed more than $24 million to 46 candidates for the 2005 election cycle and even after the election season has passed and the holidays are upon us, public financing appears to be a taxpayer-funded gift that keeps on giving.