On Friday, the final votes in the contested New York Senate race were counted and Democrat Cecelia Tkaczyk won by 19. The campaign turned on the issue of money-in-politics—making this win an important one in the fight to pass Fair Elections in New York State. As Paul Blumenthal at HuffPost wrote, "there are now a majority of sitting senators who support the passage of reform, including the public financing of elections statewide."

The Albany Times-Union calls it a "teaching moment," saying "It’s now up to Ms. Tkaczyk and all those politicians from Gov. Andrew Cuomo on down who say they stand for campaign reform to live up to their promises to do it."

Jonathan Soros, whose Friends of Democracy group played a key role in the race, said, "Her victory shows that voters will support candidates who champion real campaign finance reform, including citizen funded elections."

Citizen Action of New York's Karen Scharff said, “(Tkaczyk’s) campaign proved that New Yorkers are tired of the corrupting influence of big money on politics, where major campaign contributions grease the wheels to special access and preferred legislative outcomes for a select few.”

And Dan Cantor with the Working Families Party said, "This is a linchpin victory for public financing of elections, and it means the Governor's proposal has the votes to become law.”

Here's a full roundup on the Public Campaign Action Fund blog.

Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
Huffington Post: Citizens United anniversary marked by reformers with push for constitutional amendment
This weekend: "Campaign finance reformers are ringing in the third anniversary of the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision with dozens of rallies and protests across the country." Protests in Indiana, Washington, Texas, Denver, Missoula, a wedding in NYC, Maine, New York, Philadelphia, California, Annapolis,

Billings Gazette: Citizens United created "extraordinary occasion" for amendment
Op-ed from Sen. Max Baucus about pushing for an amendment: "But I believe this is one of those occasions. The people of Montana believe this is one of those occasions. And Congress owes it to the people we work for to fully study, discuss and debate the merits of a constitutional amendment." Op-ed in Kentucky.

Times-Union: United we donate
Great op-ed from Michael Kink and Dave Palmer in NY on the Citizens United anniversary and need for the legislature to pass Fair Elections. "As the biggest state to consider a fair elections system, we'd show the nation the path away from the corporate-controlled politics of Citizens United. Just as Cuomo and the state Legislature led the way on protecting the public from dangerous assault weapons, they can lead the way on protecting us from the dangerous corruption of big money in politics."

NYT: The Governor's megabucks
"New York’s powerful governor cannot simply give speeches about the unfairness of his state’s campaign financing laws while he uses its loopholes to enrich his own campaign. It is time for him to make good on those promises and bring cleaner, fairer and more open campaign financing to Albany."

Roll Call: Obama's ethics agenda backfires
Eliza's latest column: "Four years after President Barack Obama promised to change the culture of Washington, it’s hard to imagine how his ethics, transparency and campaign finance pledges could have backfired more thoroughly." Ouch.

AP: US appeals court OKs some WV election ad rules
"West Virginia can require reports from independent groups for ads that advocate for or against candidates without using such terms as "re-elect" or "vote against" and mandate the disclosure of donors behind broadcast ads that run close to Election Day, a federal appeals court ruled Friday."

NYT: A chance to fix the Senate
Editorial on the filibuster: "But now that they finally have an opportunity to end much of this delay and abuse, Democrats are instead considering only a few half-measures." Reid's laying out the plans to colleagues today. Op-ed from Frank Lautenberg.

HuffPost: Obama inauguration speech gives voting rights a shout out
Reaction to Obama saying "Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote," in his inaugural speech. And this weekend, a victory in Colorado on voting rights.

Congress/2012
NYT: Big Senate gift to drug maker
Great reporting on the inclusion of a huge handout to Amgen in the fiscal cliff bill that could end up costing Medicare $500 million, highlighting the lobbyist ties and campaign money of Amgen to Hatch, Baucus, and McConnell. This detail: "They gave an additional $73,000 to Mr. McConnell, some of it at a fund-raising event for him that it helped sponsor in December while the debate over the fiscal legislation was under way."

Politico: Inauguration suffers from donor fatigue
"Where President George W. Bush cleaned up for his second inaugural — 45 companies gave $250,000 each — only nine companies have ponied up for Obama’s. And donations from the deep-pocketed folks who helped Obama raise over $1 billion for his campaign haven’t been pouring in either." Me, on the decision to accept corporate money: "“It probably wasn’t worth it for that little bit of money and for the bad optics."

Roll Call: Obama volunteers chart future of grassroots group
On the OFA conference Sunday: "Organizing for Action, the nonprofit that officially launches Tuesday, will immediately begin pressing lawmakers to support the Obama administration’s proposals on gun control and a comprehensive overhaul of immigration laws, the group’s leaders said Sunday." HuffPost, LA Times, Politico.

Politico: Obama campaign final fundraising total: $1.1 billion
"The Obama campaign released its final fundraising figures in front of an audience of top campaign donors and bundlers Saturday, announcing that the total combined fundraising efforts brought in $1.1 billion during the 2012 cycle."

Roll Call: Obama expected to easy lobby posture
"Few people, from lobbyists to those who keep tabs on them, expect radical changes in Obama’s relationship with K Street during his second term. But many predict that his administration will quietly open its doors to more lobbyists through the waivers."

NYT: Well-trod path: political donor to ambassador
On donors wanting to be ambassadors: "The sheer scale of Mr. Obama’s fund-raising machine has led to an especially intense scramble for plum ambassadorships, with as many as 300 people vying for just 30 or so positions, according to several people involved in the process." McClatchy.

WaPo: For top donors, inauguration means access, influence and angling for next big job
"For the thousands of high-end donors who pay for the whole thing, the inauguration is about exclusive access to the president and vice president, as well as what insiders call 'placement.' (Jobs, they mean.)"

Bloomberg: Fed Ex, Coca Cola pitch in for Obama
"Add FedEx Corp. and the Coca-Cola Corp. to the list of donors to President Barack Obama’s inaugural committee." Unions too. CRP.

The Hill: Lobbyists of all stripes swarm Obama's gun proposals
"Groups not typically associated with the debate over gun rights have taken a strong interest in the proposals that the White House put forward. Civil rights activists, mayors, psychiatrists, scientists and teachers are among those who plan to dispatch lobbyists to try and shape the debate."

Politico: Ben Nelson among ex-lawmakers to K Street
"Former Sen. Ben Nelson, who retired from the upper chamber just weeks ago, will be joining public affairs firm Agenda as a senior adviser, POLITICO has learned."

Public Campaign blog: Exxon donates $250,000 to inaugural
On the PC blog, we look at Exxon's donation to the inaugural the CEO's work raising money for Romney. Or, money follow power.

NYT: A campaign without end
Op-ed by Brendan Doherty: "Mr. Obama’s first term bore the two hallmarks of what has become the permanent campaign: disproportionate travel to key electoral states and substantial time dedicated to political fund-raising from practically the moment he took office."

Miami Herald: Without David Rivera, what's a columnist to do?
Haha: "Before the voters in Miami’s 26th Congressional District dumped David Rivera, he was Mr. Dependable for a columnist, an unending source of material with his financial chicanery and phantom companies and his convoluted explanations. His life was like performance theater, living satire of a political contribution system gone amok."

Other/States
Miami Herald: Major ethics bill unveiled in Tallahassee
In Florida: "From addressing voting conflicts and shutting down slush funds to halting the revolving door between legislative leaders and lobbying, the bill would address a lengthy list of ethics issues facing elected officials throughout Florida."