As many of you may know, PACG has put out many calls to action on VOICE - Voter Owned Iowa Clean Elections. The passage of VOICE - SF 553 , in the state of Iowa would have a HUGE impact
on every issue across the spectrum - the passage of this bill
would give the people of Iowa an unprecedented opportunity to take back
control of our legislature from the special interest groups that have
too often dominated the outcome of policy. There are MANY reasons to
pass VOICE - passage of this bill would free-up our legislators
from the all consuming cycle of fundraising so they can spend more
time working on the actual issues that affect their
constituents, and citizens would have more faith in the system and
the legislators that represent them. Legislators would no longer be
beholden to the special interests that help get them elected. In other
states where similar bills were passed, they are seeing a big increase
in people running for office than ever before and in Arizona
voter turnout has increased by as much as 20%. The passage of
VOICE is a win-win for everyone involved... that's why WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW.
The VOICE
bill, SF 553, is in an Appropriations sub-committee comprised of
Rep. Dave Jacoby (D-chair), Rep. Jo Oldson (D) and Rep. Dwayne Alons
(R). It will come up for a vote in that committee
either Tuesday (3/27) or Wednesday (3/28). If passed, it
then goes to the full committee and becomes "funnel-proof." That
means the likelihood for debate on the floor of the House
increases. However, we learned on Friday that the Appropriations
sub-committee plans to "kill" the bill, at the request of
leadership.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
PLEASE make a push to call the committee members and the leadership on MONDAY,
urging them to support SF 553. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is a firm
supporter of the bill so please call him, thank him for his
support and urge him to continue pushing for passage of the bill.
MOST IMPORTANTLY - contact Senator Mike Gronstal in the Senate and Speaker Pat Murphy in the House - urging them to support passage of the bill. We need to make a VERY BIG PUSH in order to make a difference.
VOICE has overwhelming support from citizens and community leaders - we need to remind leadership that people matter more, money matters less.
PLEASE call the Appropriations Sub-Committee members and House & Senate Leaders on MONDAY! - These
are only 6 telephone calls that will take up very little of your time
-- the small effort required on our part can make a BIG difference for
the future of our state! Please refer to the Word document (see
attachment) that outlines the general information and primary
benefits of the bill, SF 553.
Rod Roberts (R)
Rod.Roberts@legis.state.ia.us
House Switchboard: (515) 281-3221.
Speaker of the HouseRep. Pat Murphy (D) House District 28 – Dubuque County Pat.Murphy@legis.state.ia.us Home Telephone: (563) 582-5922 House Telephone: (515) 281-5566
House Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (D) House District 67 – Polk County Kevin.McCarthy@legis.state.ia.us Home Telephone: (515) 953-5221 House Telephone: (515) 281-7497 (PLEASE THANK HIM FOR HIS SUPPORT!)
Senate Majority Leader Senator Mike Gronstal (D) Senate District 50 -- Pottawattamie michael.gronstal@legis.state.ia.us Home Telephone: (712) 328-2808 Business Telephone: (515) 281-3901
Take action! Call,
your local legislator today! Find out where they stand on the
bill, urge them to support it and ask them to urge leadership and
committee members to do the same! It's not
enough to simply ask them if they support the bill --- if they do,
ask them what they are doing to ensure passage of this bill.
Progressive Action for the Common Good (PACG)
has reserved a passenger van to transport Quad City activists to Des Moines next Monday, January
29th. We will be joining other progressive activists across Iowa in order to lobby our
state legislators on the importance of clean elections and public
financing of campaigns. Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (ICCI)
is the main organizer of this event and has already laid a lot of
groundwork around this issue. This is a price-less (pun intended)
opportunity to make a difference in the fight to reclaim our democracy.
Monday's Agenda:
We will leave from the NE corner of the Northpark Mall parking lot
(near Sears) at 8:00am. This van seats 12. We have 6 open seats available and will be stopping at the Perkins restaturant in Iowa City to pick up a couple more folks so if you live in the QC area or in Iowa City and would like to join us, please contact Caroline ASAP to reserve a
seat: 563-676-7580,
carolina1961@gmail.com. Others from the QC area will also be carpooling to Des Moines.
Please wear a green shirt (representing money) and if possible, bring a
dozen or more home-made cookies along. Currently, lobbyists are allowed
to spend a maximum of $2.99 on each legislator so we would like to
bring home-made cookies to share, to represent home-made elections. If
you are willing to contribute goodies for the cause please let me know.
If you are unable to attend, but would be willing to bake some cookies,
that would be terrific! Finally, to help defray some of the cost of
renting the bus, we are asking for a $10 donation from each
participant.
Once
we get to the Capitol, we will debrief at 11am to go over our talking
points and the day's activities. At noon, we will participate in a
rally and press conference. Former Congressman Berkley Bedell, Ed
Fallon, Pam Yoakum, and Mike Connelly will all speak to the importance
of voter-owned clean elections. From 12:30 to 3pm, we will all have an
opportunity to lobby each of our state reps on this issue. We will then
plan to leave Des Moines promptly by 3:15pm so we can return home in time for
dinner, around 6pm.
CCI is expecting an estimated turnout of
close to 150 activists from around the state. I am hopeful that we can fill the remaining seats in the van. We
expect to have a bill number to lobby around by next week.
Thanks for all you do - hope to see you in Des Moines! Caroline Vernon 563-676-7580
carolina1961@gmail.com
For more information on why this issue is so important, please read the following:
Are Political Action Committees trying to use money to influence OUR legislature?
Iowans shouldn't have to wonder.
Tell your legislators to support Voter Owned Iowa Clean Elections!
The
Clean Elections Act will help restore fairness to our elections by
allowing everyday Iowans the opportunity to run for office, regardless
of how much money they can access. Voters won't have to wonder if
large contributors are gaining unbalanced access to OUR
representatives.
The Clean Elections Act would provide a limited amount of public financing for candidates
who:
Pledge to not raise any private money for their campaigns. Pledge to not use any of their own money for their campaigns.
Collect a set number of signatures and $5 contributions from within their own district to prove they are viable.
It Can Work! Maine and Arizona have been effectively using the system for four election cycles and the results have been good for democracy.
More people are running for office. More people are turning out to vote. Candidates report spending more time talking to voters. 9
of 11 statewide officeholders in Arizona, including the Governor and
Attorney General, have been elected without taking money from PACs and
big money contributors, spending only a fraction of what is used in
conventional races like Iowa's.
We Need it Now! Voter-Owned Elections help ensure a healthy democracy by:
Freeing candidates from the money chase and allowing them to spend all their campaign time talking with voters.
Creating a fair playing field by reducing the need to raise large amounts of money to win.
Giving
more Iowans the chance to run for office – regardless of their access
to big money or their willingness to accept PAC contributions.
Creating
a system where Iowans won't have to wonder if big contributions are
influencing votes at the capitol with their campaign contributions.
The Clean Elections Act = Voter Owned Iowa Clean Elections
Background:
A
Clean Elections Act would create voluntary public financing for state
elections. Candidates would qualify for public funding if they vowed
to raise no private money, vowed to not use any of their own money, and
collected a set number of signatures and $5 contributions from within
their district.
In a contested general election, eligible candidates who chose to use the system would receive:
$3 million for a team running for governor and lieutenant governor. $200,000 for a candidate for attorney general.
$125,000 for a candidate for a statewide office other than governor, lieutenant governor, or attorney general. $40,000 for a candidate for the Iowa senate. $30,000 for a candidate for the Iowa house or representatives.
Summary:
Voter
Owned Iowa Clean Elections is a system that would free candidates from
the money chase and allow them to spend more time with voters and
constituents. The same system has been used in Maine and Arizona for
four full election cycles and has proven to be an effective way of
reducing the influence of big money on elections. 6 of 8 statewide
office holders in Arizona were elected without using any special
interest money. Voter turnout has increased by over 20%. The number
of people running for office has increased. And in the Nov 2006
Election, Governor Janet Napolitano won re-election, combining with her
challenger to spend only $2 million, compared to the combined $18
million spent by candidates in the Iowa gubernatorial race.
A
Clean Elections Act will allow every day Iowans to run for office
without having to worry about raising large amounts of money. Phase I
of CCI's "Money and Elections in Iowa" study shows that the majority of
money given to candidates is coming from PACs. Challengers are at a
huge disadvantage, needing to raise $65,000 to be competitive in a race
for the house and $100,000 to be competitive for the senate. And as
campaign spending has gotten out of control, campaigns have gone south.
The Clean Elections Act would limit unnecessary spending by placing
contribution limits on donors. The Clean Elections Act would also
require Media outlets to file reports outlining who is paying for
political advertisements, curbing the explosion of negative
advertising.
For the cost of $5 per voter, Iowans could know for certain
that their elected officials are working to address the needs of all
Iowans, and not have to wonder about where all the money comes from.
For around $10 million a year, our state elected officials would have
the chance to focus on ideas and meeting their constituents, not
chasing down the combined $32 million spent in the Nov. 2006 elections.
Tell your legislator today: "Iowans want Voter Owned Clean Elections!"
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Announces New Lobby Day By ICCI
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement: January 23 & 29, 2007 February 6 & 20. 2007 Rally and Lobby Days at the State Capitol Join us
for upcoming lobby days. To get action on important issues like
Voter-Owned Clean Elections, local control and clean air and water,
we're ramping up our presence at the Capitol. We need you there!
• Tuesday, January 23 • Monday, January 29 (VOICE clean elections) • Tuesday, February 6 • Tuesday, February 20
The
first three lobby days, January 23, January 29 and February 6, will be
smaller events focused on meeting with legislators during the middle
portion of the day, from 10am-2pm. January 29 will specifically focus
on Voter-Owned Clean Elections.
February
20 will be a larger lobby day, like the one we just had, lasting from
10am-3pm. Feb. 20 is right before the first funnel date, when all bills
that are in committee must either pass out of committee or die. We want
to make sure the good bills get through, so our presence will be very
important! If you can attend a lobby day(s), let us know by e-mail or by calling 515.282.0484.
Political
reforms such as redistricting reform, fusion, and campaign finance
reform have been floundering at the ballot box in recent years,
rejected by voters in several states. But another political reform,
instant runoff voting, has been quietly racking up impressive victories. Instant
runoff voting (IRV), which allows voters to rank their candidates 1, 2,
3, made great strides forward during the November 7 elections. Voters
in four different jurisdictions overwhelmingly approved ballot measures
for IRV. In California, voters in Oakland approved the idea with a
landslide 69 percent of the vote, as did 56 percent of voters in Davis.
In Minneapolis, a landslide 65 percent of voters passed an IRV ballot
measure, as did 53 percent of voters in Pierce County, Washington.
What is
interesting about the victories is that they happened in four very
different locations. Oakland is a very diverse, working-class city;
Minneapolis is a Midwestern-values city; Pierce County is a mix of
rural/suburban/urban areas with many independent-minded voters; and
Davis is a small university town. Yet in each place, IRV provided a
unique solution to problems with representative government.
Instant
runoff voting ensures that officeholders are elected with a majority of
the vote in a single November election. No separate runoffs or
primaries are necessary. Voters rank their candidates, and if their
first choice can't win, their vote goes to their second-ranked
candidate as their runoff choice. Voters are liberated to vote for the
candidates they really like without worrying about "spoilers." You can
rank your favorite candidate first, knowing if she or he can't win, you
haven't wasted your vote because it will go to your second choice. IRV is
catching on, whether on the liberal coasts or in heartland America.
North Carolina recently passed groundbreaking legislation to use IRV to
fill vacancies for statewide judicial offices and for local elections,
and there's talk of using it for all statewide offices. Driving the
interest in North Carolina are elections like the runoff in 2004 for
the Democratic nominee for superintendent of public instruction, which
cost $3.5 million and produced a 3 percent voter turnout.
Recently
Louisiana, Arkansas and South Carolina, which already use two-round
runoff elections for various races, began using IRV for their
military/overseas voters because there is not enough time to mail a
second ballot to them when a runoff election is required. Colorado
recently became the first state to use IRV to fill a vacancy in the
state legislature. Takoma Park, Maryland, will use IRV for the first
time in 2007 to elect the mayor and city council. Burlington, Vermont,
used IRV to elect its mayor last spring, spurring the introduction of
bills in the state legislature for its use in statewide elections.
Following the Minneapolis and Pierce County victories, the largest
newspapers in Minnesota and Washington have called for IRV to be used
to elect state offices. San
Francisco voters launched the IRV movement in 2002 when they passed it
for local elections, and San Francisco has used it now for three
elections. Several exit polls have demonstrated that San Francisco
voters across all racial, age and economic lines like ranking their
ballots and understand IRV. Since San Francisco's trailblazing voyage,
nine ballot measures for IRV have been passed by voters, often with
landslide margins. The
movement toward use of IRV is gaining momentum because it answers a
real need. It's one of the best solutions to public frustration with
unresponsive and unaccountable government. IRV makes voters feel like
their votes count, because they are not stuck always choosing the
lesser of two evils; they can cast their vote for their favorite
candidate, knowing if she or he can't win, they haven't thrown their
vote away on a spoiler. IRV opens politics to new candidates and their
ideas, increases political debate, and even discourages negative
campaigning as candidates try to win rankings from the supporters of
their opponents. For all
these reasons, instant runoff voting is now the hot reform to watch as
Americans grapple with how to improve our democracy and make elected
officials more accountable to We the Voters.
*IBLTV is a group of citizens from the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area who are concerned about the decline in the quality of local television. Fight local media consolidation, as it leads to an unaccountable medium that enriches itself while disregarding the need to serve the public good.
*The rational counter to 'The Point,' 'The Counterpoint' critiques and corrects the daily editorial by Sinclair Broadcasting's corporate vice president, Mark Hyman, that is broadcast on all Sinclair-owned television stations across the country
ICCI Voter Owned Lobby Day in Des Moines