California Common Cause and
the
League of Women Voters of California
are proud to announce their
support for Proposition 89
Los Angeles - California's two major good government organizations,
the League of Women Voters of California and California Common Cause,
joined a growing coalition of community-based organizations, and announced
their endorsement today of Proposition 89, the Clean Money Initiative.
Said Jackie Jacobberger, President of the League of
Women Voters of California, "The League and Common Cause have actively
worked to support reasonable measures including contribution limits,
limits on campaign spending, partial public financing of campaigns,
and better disclosure of the financing of campaigns. But the real solution
to the runaway spending that has made California's elections a competition
of money, not ideas, is public funding - the Clean Money approach."
"We hope that California will join Connecticut, Maine, Arizona and
other places in adopting a Clean Money system that puts voter interests
ahead of lobbyists and special interests. These states have proven that
Clean Money elections are constitutional and they work," said Common
Cause President Chellie Pingree. "Californians are
tired of pay-to-play politics and negative ad wars. Proposition 89 would
go a long way toward giving citizens a louder voice and a more
responsive government."
Said Kathay Feng, Executive Director of California
Common Cause, "We face a serious problem with voter apathy and disgust
over elections where there are no new ideas or faces. A Clean Money
system levels the playing field for more qualified candidates with diverse
points of view and backgrounds to run. Good candidates show their viability
by collecting a certain number (7,500 - 25,000 depending on the office)
of five dollar contributions, and then receive public funding to run
on their ideas. Having a huge campaign war chest or the endorsement
of machine politicians would no longer be the key to winning."
Prop. 89 was placed on the November 2006 ballot through the efforts
of the California Nurses Association.
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