Call to Action Tuesday-AB 583, Clean Money/Fair Elections

[realFedUp]

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF CALIFORNIA

CALL TO ACTION
AB 583 -- CLEAN MONEY/FAIR ELECTIONS
January 6, 2006

AB 583, the California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act, will be voted
on in the Assembly Elections Committee next Tuesday, January 10. It
needs your help now! Because it is a two-year bill, it must leave the
Assembly, its house of origin, by the end of January. So we need to
work FAST!

The League of Women Voters of California supports AB 583, legislation
that would provide competitive public financing to legislative and
statewide candidates who qualify by showing a broad base of support.
The bill, authored by Assembly Member Loni Hancock, allows candidates
to compete more equitably for public office.

The League has been working closely with the California Clean Money
Campaign, California Common Cause, the Greenlining Institute and other
reform organizations on this approach to campaign finance reform for
several years. This session's version of the bill has incorporated
several concepts that were proposed by the League. It is based on the
highly successful Clean Money systems in Arizona and Maine, which are
allowing voters to take control of politics because voters, not special
interests, pay for election campaigns.

Learn more about AB 583 at
http://www.caclean.org/progress/legislation.php

The first vote on AB 583, the California Clean Money and Fair Elections
Act, will be on January 10 in the Assembly Elections Committee.

ACTION NEEDED: Please call or fax Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez and your
own Assembly Member. Tell them how important it is to change the way we
finance election campaigns. (Go to www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html for
contact information.)

If your Assembly Member is on the Assembly Elections and Redistricting
Committee (Tom Umberg, chair; Mark Wyland, vice chair; Johan Klehs,
Mark Leno, Lloyd Levine, and Michael Villines), it is urgent that you
phone your representative's district or state Capitol office and
indicate strong support for Clean Money before the hearing on January
10. If you see this alert at night or on the weekend, please call and
leave a message. Then call again on Monday, January 9 "to make sure
they got the message." Remember, the Elections Committee vote is on
January 10, so time is of the essence!

As an individual, you can also sign the online petition for AB 583. It
will be used to show Sacramento leaders how many people want public
financing for California: http://www.caclean.org/petition/

POINTS TO MAKE:
-- Please vote yes on AB 583, the California Clean Money and Fair
Elections Act.

-- Clean Money works in Arizona and Maine, and California needs it too.

-- Clean money increased both voter turnout and confidence in their
government in Arizona and Maine.

-- A Clean Money system lets new people with good ideas run for office.

-- Elected officials don't have to worry that voters and the press will
second-guess their votes based on who contributed to their election
campaign.

-- Clean Money is popular with voters -- in Arizona 67% of voters
approve of their Clean Money system.

-- Clean Money helps candidates spend time talking with voters, rather
than having to concentrate on talking to donors.

-- 96 percent of Clean Money candidates in Maine said they were
satisfied with the Clean Money system.

LEAGUE POSITION: The League of Women Voters of the United States
believes that the methods of financing political campaigns should
ensure the public's right to know, combat corruption and undue
influence, enable candidates to compete more equitably for public
office and allow maximum citizen participation in the political
process.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Donna Chipps, Campaign Financing Off-Board
Program Director, [e-mail]

KEEP US INFORMED: Send an e-mail to [e-mail] to let us know
what action you have taken and any responses you receive.

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF CALIFORNIA
801 12th Street, Suite 220, Sacramento, CA 95814
916-442-9210/Fax [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Web site: www.lwvc.org

[rumpel]

1. Here is an automated call for action e-mail through which I sent mine:

ACTFORCHANGE ACTIVISM UPDATE: January 12, 2006


IN THIS BULLETIN:

* FEATURED ACTION: Support Clean Money Elections in California
* ACTIVISM OPPORTUNITY: Stop Dangerous Expansion of Plutonium Work at
Livermore Lab


** FEATURED ACTION **

Support Clean Money Elections in California

The scandals swirling around Jack Abramoff and his cronies demonstrate
just how broken our campaign finance system has become. Here in
California, the cost of campaigning forces candidates into an endless
loop of fundraising from, and indebtedness to, wealthy special
interests and deep-pocketed donors. But now there's a way out of this
vicious cycle.

Ask your Assemblymember to support A.B. 583, the "Clean Money" bill.
Click here:
http://act.actforchange.com/cgi-bin7/DM/y/ekC30NDHck0RoK0BAHl0Ex

The California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act (A.B. 583) would
establish a system of full public financing for California elections
similar to those already working well in Arizona and Maine. Candidates
elected under these systems are accountable to the public, not special
interests -- and they're free to spend more time listening to voters'
concerns rather than fundraising.

The Clean Money bill just cleared the Assembly Elections Committee,
and will move to the full Assembly soon. Take action today!

Tell your Assemblymember that you support the Clean Money bill -- and
that they should too. Click here:
http://act.actforchange.com/cgi-bin7/DM/y/ekC30NDHck0RoK0BAHl0Ex

[realFedUp]

2. fortunately this passed....thanks all who took action!