Senior Legal Counsel, Campaign Finance @CampaignLegal. Former @WisconsinLRB attorney; #RPCV Azerbaijan; @WisconsinLaw and @UW_AAE; Wisconsinite.
Washington, DC
Joined September 2009
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Everyday is a great day to talk about #transparency in our #democracy!
Today, I highlighted innovations in state transparency laws to ensure voters have more info about who is spending big to influence elections.
Big thanks to the good folks @C_and_E's Digital Campaign Summit!
Feel like you've been hearing about the same ethics scandals at the Supreme Court over and over again? Today, we're going to talk about why that is, and what a #SCOTUS code of ethics would look like.
Tune in to our SCOTUS ethics virtual event here: youtube.com/live/TbdSc37Vm3s
ALT A meme of Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day, looking disheveled and defeated. Text reads: "Well, it's time to talk about Supreme Court ethics...again."
Legislative round-up!
My @CampaignLegal colleague @pdllewellyn highlights states with solutions to stop wealthy interests from secretly spending millions in #elections
#Voters have a right to know who's spending big to influence their vote—read it here: campaignlegal.org/update/mom…
Now, though, L.D. 726 would roll back the hard-won safeguards in Maine #elections. And get this: the Maine corporate contribution ban has been in effect for only 6 months.
This takes Maine #democracy backward. We should strengthen pro-democracy & pro-voter laws, not undo them.
Deep background: corporate contributions have been banned in federal #elections (for 115 years!) and in 22 other states (plus #Maine)
These laws help ensure officials are #accountable to #voters and not the wealthy special interests lining their campaign coffers
I just wrote to @GovJanetMills, urging the Governor to veto LD 726. #mepolitics
@CampaignLegal opposes LD 726 because it takes Maine #democracy backwards, allowing corporations to donate directly to candidates, raising #corruption risks.
Here's why this is important.🧵
Legislators and corporate donors didn't like how it turned out—corporations wouldn't be able to line candidates' coffers. But they didn't say that directly. Instead, they said the law was screwed up.
You'd think the next step would be to fix it, right? Well... #mepolitics
When #Maine passed the corporate contribution ban 2021, they were strengthening their #democracy and fighting #corruption. The ban wasn't perfect, but it was a good start. #mepolitics
@CampaignLegal supported their efforts—here's our testimony from then: campaignlegal.org/document/c…
Bans on corporate contributions help ensure that politicians are #accountable to their constituents and not wealthy special interests. Accountability to constituents is a cornerstone of our #democracy, ensuring government is responsive to its people.
Laws that ban corporations from giving money to candidates are crucial for curbing #corruption in our #democracy.
It's disappointing that #Maine legislators are taking steps to end their ban instead of strengthening it.
H/T @LWVME: mailchi.mp/lwvme/monday-elec…
A brief 🧵: