MEDIA ADVISORY:

Activists Gather to Seize the Moment!: a National Activists Conference on the Public Financing of Elections Three-Day Conference to Begin Friday

WASHINGTON, DC – Three major campaign finance reform groups today announced details for a three-day conference to organize around drastically changing the way political campaigns are financed. Several hundred activists, civic leaders, students and campaign experts will meet in Washington on Friday, Sept. 8, for the start of the Seize the Moment! conference. Speakers include political strategist Donna Brazile, pollsters Ethel Klein and Celinda Lake, as well as columnist and newspaper publisher George Curry, author Spencer Overton, and former Clinton speechwriter Michael Waldman.

Public Campaign, Common Cause and Democracy Matters are sponsoring the conference to gather and organize national and state organizations, reform activists and allies around the country on this issue. The conference name, Seize the Moment!, refers to reformers’ efforts to motivate the public to support the public financing of political campaigns in light of pay-to-play scandals that have rocked Washington, DC and statehouses nationwide. The conference will allow participants to sharpen their advocacy skills, learn new organizing techniques, share experiences and renew their spirit of commitment.

WHAT:

A national conference on winning campaigns for publicly financed elections at the local, state, and national level.

WHO:

Public Campaign, Common Cause, and Democracy Matters will host grassroots activists, national reform advocates, students, and experts from diverse backgrounds, spanning civil rights, the environment, labor, and women’s and other social justice movements.

WHEN:

September 8-10, 2006

WHERE:

Holiday Inn on Capitol Hill

415 New Jersey Avenue NW

Washington DC 20001

For a detailed schedule of events, click here.

If you are interested in attending, please call Mary Boyle at (202) 736-5716, or Melissa Salmanowitz at (202) 478-6138 or Rick Bielke at (202) 293-0222.

###