Elana Levin

Clean Elections Marketplace of Ideas Event Monday Morning

You'd think with the Norman Hsu scandal (let alone the Abramoff scandal) elected officials would be jumping on the campaign finance reform bandwagon. The Times editorial board argued that campaign finance reform would in the long term end up helping even major candidates because it would eliminate candidates' dependency on bundlers, which we've seen can lead to some rather unpleasant press conferences to say the least.

But what do elected officials make of the outdated campaign finance system and what sort of changes would they support? They'll be some of the folks present this Monday at DMI's Marketplace of Ideas event on Getting Special Interest Money Out of State Elections with Activist Dennis Burke. At 8am at the Harvard Club you'll be hearing from the Former Director of Arizona Common Cause who helped to lead the 1998 effort to pass the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Act by ballot proposition. You'll also get to hear from State Senator Liz Krueger, former candidate/current national director of the National Action Network, Charlie King and Jessica Wiseneski, the Clean Money, Clean Elections Coordinator at Citizen Action of New York.

Some background:

Arizona's Clean Elections Act provides voluntary public financing to candidates for state-level elected office who agree to run without private campaign contributions. The system is funded by surcharges on civil and criminal fines and a voluntary tax check-off. Arizona’s Clean Elections system is credited with increasing the number of women and people of color running for state office, boosting voter turnout in communities of color, and reducing the influence of special interest campaign money.

Join us Monday for a rare chance to hear about campaign finance reform firsthand from a leader who's actually gotten legislation passed. Here's the info:

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2007 8:00 a.m. - 10:00a.m.
The Harvard Club
27 West 44th Street (between 5th & 6th Avenues)
New York, NY 10036

Space is limited. RSVP and registration are required. Admission is free.

Please RSVP by e-mail to dmi@drummajorinstitute.org or by phone to 646.274.5700

Light breakfast will be served.

Elana Levin: Author Bio | Other Posts
Posted at 12:33 PM, Sep 14, 2007 in Governmental Reform
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