Hi everyone, I am a current State Rep running to replace Patrick Kennedy in Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District.
I’m getting ready to leave for Netroots Nation, but I wanted to stop by and tell everyone about a Press Conference I held in order to call for Campaign Finance Reform and Public Financing of Elections. Yesterday, I pledged to refuse corporate contributions and I called on my opponents to follow my lead. I called for comprehensive campaign finance and good government reform in front of the Bank of America building at Kennedy Plaza in Providence, and pledged to refuse to take one penny from corporate political action committees.
Rhode Islanders want to elect a Congressperson who they can trust to be honest and accountable to the voters, and who will fight against special interests and political corruption instead of being funded by big banks and powerful corporations. That is why I have pledged to refuse to take a single penny from any corporate PAC's, and why I am running to represent our working families, not corporations and big campaign donors.
I also called on my opponents to follow my lead and refuse to accept corporate PAC money, and to return any checks from corporations that they have already received.
Okay, you've heard this before and you want specifics... let's get concrete. Yesterday I pledged to fight in Congress to pass a package of legislation that will limit the dominance of big money in our elections and politics and hold our politicians accountable to the people, which include:
• Overturning the Supreme Court's recent Citizens United decision – which allows corporations to spend unlimited money on elections – by amending the Constitution.
• Passing the Fair Elections Now Act, which would provide public funding to candidates who qualify so they can compete with candidates receiving corporate PAC money and wealthy self-funded candidates.
• Passing the Lobbyist Reform Act, which would address the "revolving door" between Congress and corporations; and require transparency and reporting of meetings between lobbyists and government officials.
I understand voters' cynicism and why they distrust what our politicians say. Americans know all too well the corrupting influence of money in politics, and people are too familiar with politicians saying one thing while taking money from corporations who have interests directly in conflict with what is best for the people.
At the General Assembly, I fought to limit the corrupting influence of money in our politics -- organizing with Democracy Matters, and co-sponsoring our clean elections bill; working for FairVote I've pushed for a variety of good government reforms, and have testified before Congress in support of that work. I've worked with Change Congress to develop a response to Citizens United. When elected, I will continue this fight to clean up our political system and I will continue to be a voice for the people instead of the powerful.
You can see photos of the press conference on our Facebook page.
Finally, you can read the press coverage of our event hereand here.
Today, I also wanted to share with you my recent endorsement from the Rhode Island Progressive Democrats of America, a group of committed people who share my belief that our political system is in dire need of reform and that our government should not be for sale.
If you are going to be at Netroots Nations, I would love to say hello! And whether or not you’ll be in Las Vegas, I would like to ask for your vote in the DFA Grassroots All Star contest! I am honored and humbled by all of your support so far and because of you I was able to place in the top ten which means I am now in the final round! Please vote and help me to spread the word!
I’m going to stick around for about an hour and I’ll try to answer your questions, and once again a big thank you to this community for all of your support!
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