OC Political

It appears that the Yes on 32 Campaign is gaining some bi-partisan support based on their press release. In the effort of full disclosure Custom Campaigns is doing consulting work for Yes on 32. Here is the press release:

DEMOCRATS FOR EDUCATION REFORM CALIFORNIA AND SENATOR GLORIA ROMERO (RET.) ENDORSE PROP 32

(SACRAMENTO, CA)—Today, the Yes on Proposition 32 campaign, supporting the Stop Special Interest Money Now Act, welcomed the endorsement of Democrats for Education Reform California and its director, Gloria Romero, a former state Senator (D-East Los Angeles) and Senate Majority Leader.

Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) California is the state branch of a national political organization whose mission is to encourage a more productive dialogue within the Democratic Party on the need to fundamentally reform American public education. DFER operates at all levels of government to educate elected officials and support reform-minded candidates for public office.

Senator Gloria Romero (Ret.) was elected to the 24th Senate District in 2001, representing East Los Angeles and the greater San Gabriel Valley. In addition to becoming the first woman to ever hold the position of Senate Majority Leader in the history of the California State Senate, she served as Chair of both the Education Committee and the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee on Education.

A fierce advocate for education reform and civil rights, Senator Gloria Romero authored the Parent Trigger legislation in 2010. As a professor in California’s public university system, she is also a member of the California Faculty Association.

Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) California and former state Senator Gloria Romero join long-time Californian and former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz and a growing grassroots coalition of voters, taxpayers, and small businesses in support of this initiative that will fundamentally reform the state’s campaign finance system—a system at the root of Sacramento’s dysfunction. “For far too long, special interests have purchased the influence they need with politicians to stand in the way of reform,“ said California director of Democrats for Education Reform Gloria Romero. “Despite the fact that half of California’s budget goes to education, we’ve seen school performance decline and reform legislation blocked by special interests nearly every step of the way. Prop 32 offers the straightforward and balanced reform necessary to cut the money ties that bind lawmakers to special interests. That’s why we encourage all Californians to vote Yes on Prop 32.”

“As someone who has been on the political frontlines in Sacramento, I’ve seen first hand how special interests control the political process,” continued Romero.  “Through their vast resources, special interests are able to hold lawmakers hostage to their agenda. This isn’t a partisan or ideological issue – all Californians deserve elected officials who will work for them, rather than special interests. By tackling the flow of money, Prop 32 would take a serious step in that direction.” According to the nonpartisan Fair Political Practices Commission, the top 15 special interest groups have spent more than $1 billion on influencing the political process in California over the past ten years while the state’s fiscal and economic climate has reached historic lows.

According to Maplight.org, in the 2010 election cycle, 79% of campaign contributions made to California’s legislators came from donors who live outside their districts. During that legislative season, the San Jose Mercury News found that more than 40% of the legislation introduced in Sacramento is written by special interest lobbyists, and these bills are much more likely to become law.

Proposition 32 addresses the problem of special interests across the board by curbing special interest power and taking money out of politics. It will:

1) ban direct corporate and union contributions to state and local candidates

2) ban contributions from government contractors to elected officials who control contracts awarded to them

3) ban automatic deductions by corporations, unions and government of employees’ wages to be used for politics

Prop 32 implements these reforms evenhandedly, without exception. It will appear on the November 2012 ballot.

For more information on the initiative, please visit www.yesprop32.org.