Follow the Clean Money
LAST SATURDAY'S My Word, "California needs clean money reform," urges Californians to contact their state Assembly members and senators to express their support for the clean money bill.
It is especially important for this legislation that lawmakers hear an overwhelming outpouring of support from ordinary citizens, because this is an awkward situation in which reformers are trying to convince legislators, who have been successful in raising huge amounts of campaign dollars or else they wouldn't have been elected, to vote for a system that would reduce the influence of the campaign money that they have been so good at raising.
In other words, because most of our legislators are experts at operating under the old system, they may not see it as in their own career interests to have a new, fairer system, unless they hear a loud, clear message from people who have had enough of the excessive influence of money in politics.
Recently, however, the Connecticut state Legislature became the first state legislature in the country to pass a full public financing bill that covers not only statewide offices but also the Legislature, which proves it can be done. Let's restore democracy to California, too.
Lynn Davidson
Berkeley
See the article on Oakland Tribune website
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