Public Campaign Action Fund - california

Perata Pro Quo?

Katie Schlieper — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:39:19 +0000

Did California state Senator Don Perata (D) push officials in Oakland to hire a lobbyist who would push for the pet project of a major contributor to Perata? The FBI is investigating what may have been quite an elaborate instance of quid pro quo which the San Francisco Chronicle sums up here.

How Much for a Name?

Katie Schlieper — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 22:17:16 +0000

Christopher Moylan, a city councilman from Sunnyvale California writes this op-ed in the San Jose Mercury News encouraging a public financing option for municipal campaigns to encourage a more diverse field of candidates and surmount the cost barrier to running for office.

Dirty Laundry

Katie Schlieper — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 20:24:40 +0000

How do you circumvent donation limits and exploit a matching donation program to boot? Ask the real estate developers who "launder" contributions to the Los Angeles mayor and city council as explored this report by the local NBC affiliate (transcript and video available).

Bottom of the Heap

Katie Schlieper — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 20:31:55 +0000

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has released its list of the 22 most corrupt members of Congress. The third annual iteration of this report, called "Beyond DeLay" includes scandal summaries for each of the 22 members cited (and two more to watch out for). California leads the tally with five members listed but Alaska enjoys the distinction of having its entire congressional delegation on the list. Perhaps they'll get jackets made.

Bad Language

Katie Schlieper — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 17:43:06 +0000

Susan Lerner of the California Clean Money Campaign rightly criticizes the biased ballot language that Sunnyvale, CA city councilors have used to frame the issue of bringing full public financing of elections to the city, in this article by Julie Patel at the San Jose Mercury News. read more

Another Chance for California

Katie Schlieper — Thu, 03 May 2007 18:11:34 +0000
Trent Lange of the California Clean Money Action Fund writes at California Progress Report about the resurgence of AB 583, the California Clean Elections bill sponsored by Assemblymember Loni Hancock which has passed through the Assembly Elections Committee and will now to the Appropriations Committee.

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Healthy Dose of Reform

Katie Schlieper — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 19:44:59 +0000
Deborah Burger, President of the California Nurses Association, knows as well as anyone the effects our current campaign finance system has on health care policy: while HMOs write checks up and down Capitol Hill, we watch insurance premiums spike and affordable health care move further and further out of the grasp of ordinary people. That's why she's excited by what the Fair Elections Now Act could mean for comprehensive healthcare reform.
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The Voting Class

Katie Schlieper — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 19:21:19 +0000
Steven Hill writes in The San Francisco Chronicle about growing voter disenfranchisement and apathy in California and what can be done about it. In doing so, he says efforts to win full public financing should be abandoned - pointing to the loss of Proposition 89, the Clean Elections ballot initiative, in 2006. But if most eligible adults aren't voting, can you point to an electoral loss as evidence against pursuing full public financing?
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Traveler Tales

Katie Schlieper — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 17:20:40 +0000
Doug Heller, of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights is questioning the ethics of a two-week trip for a group of California lawmakers financed by the California Foundation on the Environment and the Economy. comparing it to Jack Abramoff's infamous Scotland golfing junket. Though billed as educational in purpose, the trip to Brazil included stays at luxury hotels and side trips to tourist destinations.
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More Trouble for Doolittle

Katie Schlieper — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 21:09:30 +0000
Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) who narrowly won re-election last month amid growing allegations of his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, is writing a lot of checks to a law firm that handles campaign finance cases - $44,138 in all, and probably not the last of it.
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