Three-Day Conference to Begin Friday, September 8

WASHINGTON, DC - Major campaign finance reform groups have 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, September 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 on this issue. The conference name, “Seize the Moment!,” refers to campaign reformers’ efforts to motivate the public to support publicly financed campaigns in light of pay-to-play scandals that have rocked Washington, DC and statehouses nationwide. Through workshops, the conference will allow participants to sharpen their advocacy skills, learn new organizing techniques, share experiences, and renew their spirit of commitment.

“Now is the time to seize the moment and use this corrupt and scandalous atmosphere to make a significant change to the issues of money in politics,” said Nick Nyhart, executive director of Public Campaign. “This conference raises the stakes by giving the tools directly to the activists fighting to save our democracy from well heeled special interests and big money lobbyists.”

Nyhart, Common Cause President and CEO Chellie Pingree, and Democracy Matters Founder and President Adonal Foyle will host an award ceremony Saturday night honoring lawmakers and grassroots leaders who have championed publicly financed elections in their states, including:

• Rev. Carrie Bolton, Community Activist from North Carolina
• Rep. Chris Caruso, Connecticut House of Representatives
• Te-Ping Chen, Field Organizer, Brown University
• Rep. Christopher Donovan, Majority Leader, Connecticut House of Representatives
• Eric Griego, former City Councilor, Albuquerque, New Mexico - Gov. Jodi Rell, Connecticut
• Erik Sten, City Commissioner, Portland, Oregon
• Sen. Donald Williams, Jr., Senate President Pro Tempore, Connecticut Senate

Click here for a full schedule of events.

“If Jack Abramoff did one thing, he taught voters how loudly money speaks in Washington,” said Pingree. “A public financing system for Congress and in the states would change business-as-usual in politics. It would put constituents first, and involve lots of new people and fresh ideas in the political process.”

Three states—Arizona, Maine, and North Carolina—have already put into practice Clean Elections, a system of campaign finance that makes elections about voters, not political donors. Four others and two municipalities-- Connecticut, New Jersey, New Mexico and Vermont and Albuquerque, New Mexico and Portland, Oregon -- are in the process of implementing a Clean Elections system in all or parts of the state.

Clean Elections works by allowing everyone to participate equally in the political process. In most instances, candidates qualify for public funding once they show a broad base of community support by collecting a set number of small contributions—usually $5.

If a candidate runs under the Clean Elections system and faces an opponent who is running with private contributions and outspends the publicly funded candidate, the law typically provides a matching grant up to a set limit to the publicly funded candidate. Extra funding is also available if there is independent spending against a candidate by an outside group or individual.

For more information on Clean Elections and the conference, please visit www.publicampaign.org

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