Washington Public Campaigns

The momentum for a Constitutional Amendment is exploding!  The following states, cities, counties and organizations have passed resolutions calling on Congress to pass a Constitutional Amendment to overturn both Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and the pernicious effects of big money influencing our political campaigns: 

Seven State Legislatures have already passed resolutions, including Hawaii, New Mexico, Vermont, Rhode Island, Maryland, California and Massachusetts – many more are pending, 

300 Cities and towns have passed resolutions, including Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Seattle – more are pending,

Snohomish, Jefferson and Island Counties in Washington State have passed resolutions,

The U.S. Conference of Mayors unanimously passed a strong resolution.  Many other groups have passed similar resolutions.

The resolutions are not all the same, but all of them indicate that there is huge public support for taking action against the influence of big money in our state and federal elections. 

Congress is listening.  Senator Durbin, Chair of the Senate Judiciary’s Sub-Committee on The Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights held a hearing on January 24, 2012: “Taking Back Our Democracy: Responding to the Citizens United Decision and the Rise of Super PACS.”

 Nearly two million people signed petitions for a Constitutional Amendment which were delivered to the Committee at the hearing.

The hearing established that half of all “independent expenditures” are coming from 22 people! 

Thirteen Constitutional Amendments have been submitted in the House or Senate. 

Washington Public Campaigns submitted a letter to be part of the record, receipt of which was announced at the proceedings.

The President is listening.  President Obama has voiced support for a Constitutional Amendment.

The states are acting: 23 State Attorney Generals (including Washington’s A.G.) supported Montana in its effort to uphold Montana state law outlawing corporations from participating in elections.  The Supreme Court rejected this effort, but the briefs provided stunning evidence of the evils of the Copper Barons’ control of the Montana State government in the late 19^th and early 20^th Century.

Washington Public Campaigns is working with many other organizations to add Washington to the list of states that have passed resolutions.  One third of current Washington State Senators and Representatives have signed a letter pledging support for a resolution, 54/147 Senators and Representatives. (49 Legislative Districts each elect one Senator and two Representatives.)

Court rulings and more.

In the Montana case, the Supreme Court added fuel to the fires of outrage with a brief unsigned opinion that re-asserts the dominance of the Citizens United decision over state laws. The ruling also permanently overturns a 100-year state law in Montana – now allowing unlimited corporate spending to influence campaigns and elections. Read details in the New York Times or Common Dreams.

Dollars continue to flow, shattering previous fundraising records. Read here (OpenSecrets.org) how the Supreme Court transformed the campaign finance landscape through Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission — and how the decision is now affecting U.S. politics.

A U.S. Senate subcommittee held a hearing July 17th - led by Sen. Dick Durbin – to examine pending constitutional proposals to remedy the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling.
Corporations are not people, money is not speech,

Make sure the U.S. senators hear from us! We want Citizens United overturned; our democracy must NOT be for sale!

WPC is not standing still. We are helping cities and local organizations to raise their voice and to demand action on a constitutional amendment — working together with local advocates and national groups such as Move To Amend, Free Speech For People, Public Citizen, Common Cause and others. In Washington State, the City of Port Townsend and Jefferson County adopted a resolution in April. The Seattle City Council followed suit on May 14th. Langley and Bellingham adopted resolutions in June. And efforts are underway in Tacoma and elsewhere.

 

Join the effort to ask state legislators to sign onto a Legislator Letter — a joint letter by whomever will sign, calling on the Congress to amend the Constitution.

• If your legislator needs convincing, send this — Reasons To Call on Congress to Amend

And join the Citizens Petition effort, asking city councils to put an Advisory Measure on the ballot — so that voters can directly express their views.

Ask your city or county to Adopt a City/County Resolution — calling for a 28th Amendment to declare that corporations are not persons, and political contributions (by corporations and Super PACs) must be regulated, so the voice of We The People is not drowned or out-shouted.

And ask your union, district organization, or any social action group, toAdopt an Organization Resolution — calling for the city or county to act, urging a 28th Amendment.

PETITION: Advocates are collecting petition signatures, asking the city council to act to place a Citizens Advisory Measure on the ballot — in Seattle, and hopefully other cities in WA State.

Click here to see Seattle’s petition
We can edit this petition form for use in any city in the state.

Launch this effort in your city — contact [email protected].

Let’s not be silent! It’s a year of great opportunity to make progress on our mission: to reclaim democracy itself for We The People! We need all hands on deck.