Good government has never found a home in Albany because so many of the people who’ve run New York’s state government have liked things just the way they’ve always been. Now some of them are uncomfortable because a proposal before the Legislature would make it easier for independent candidates to challenge this old guard and increase competition in elections.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has included a measure in his budget proposal to set up a voluntary system beginning in 2021 or 2022, in which candidates would receive $6 in public funds for every dollar they raise, up to the first $175 of every donation. The plan would amplify the power of small donors, making it easier to mount a campaign. More insurgent candidates would mean more fresh ideas over time and pressure on all officeholders to focus more sharply on serving their constituents.

Under the governor’s proposal, each candidate running for State Assembly could receive up to $350,000 total in matching funds for the primary and general elections. There would be up to $750,000 for State Senate candidates, $8 million for comptroller candidates, $8 million for attorney general candidates and $18 million for those running for governor.

Candidates who choose to participate in the state’s public financing system would agree to individual contribution limits that are lower than those now in place: $12,000 for statewide candidates, instead of $69,700; $8,000 for candidates for State Senate, instead of $19,300; and $4,000 for the State Assembly, instead of $9,400. The proposal would also lower contribution limits for those who don’t participate in the public financing system, to $25,000 for statewide candidates, $10,000 for State Senate candidates and $6,000 for Assembly candidates.