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From Corruption to Accountability: Reforming Pay-to-Play Politics in Atlanta

Press Release

From Corruption to Accountability: Reforming Pay-to-Play Politics in Atlanta

For decades, the city of Atlanta has faced institutionalized corruption, hindering its potential as a cultural, business, and international hub. Common Cause Georgia exposed this corruption through a new report titled “The Atlanta Way: Examining Pay-to-Play."

Media Contacts

David Vance

National Media Strategist
dvance@commoncause.org
240-605-8600

Katie Scally

Communications Director
kscally@commoncause.org
408-205-1257

Ariana Marmolejo

Regional Communications Strategist (West)
amarmolejo@commoncause.org

Jennifer Garcia

Regional Communications Strategist (South)
jgarcia@commoncause.org

Kenny Colston

Regional Communications Strategist (Midwest)
kcolston@commoncause.org

Common Cause’s network of national and state democracy reform experts are frequent media commentators. To talk with one of our experts, please reach out to any member of the press team above.

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Wisconsin Law Journal: Liberal Supreme Court justices make sweeping changes to enhance transparency and accountability

News Clip

Wisconsin Law Journal: Liberal Supreme Court justices make sweeping changes to enhance transparency and accountability

During an interview with the Wisconsin Law Journal last week, Executive Director Jay Heck of the non-partisan government accountability group Common Cause noted that Wisconsin ranked as the 47th worst in the nation, according to a Center for American Progress study for judicial ethics recusal rules.

The study looked at the strength of recusal rules for judges in every state, ranking each state 1-50.

“Even Cook County (in Chicago) has stronger recusal rules for judges, which is a pretty low bar given Chicago’s...

Boston Globe: What is ‘red-boxing’ and why is it an issue in R.I.’s congressional race?

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Boston Globe: What is ‘red-boxing’ and why is it an issue in R.I.’s congressional race?

John M. Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island, said Common Cause and the Campaign Legal Center have been urging the state Board of Elections for at least four years to adopt regulations that would clarify that types of coordination — including red-boxing — violate state campaign finance law. It hasn’t happened.

Marion said the current form of red-boxing has emerged since Rhode Island last made major changes in this area of campaign finance law in 2012.

“It was hard to imagine then that...

NM Political Report: Watchdog groups file brief in congressional gerrymandering case

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NM Political Report: Watchdog groups file brief in congressional gerrymandering case

The brief was filed in state judicial district court by watchdog groups Common Cause New Mexico, Election Reformers Network and the League of Women Voters New Mexico and it supports neither party in the case.

The amicus brief seeks to help the court apply the New Mexico Supreme Court’s three-part test that was adapted from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan’s dissenting opinion in the Rucho v. Common Cause case of 2019.

“We are gratified that the district court is using the three-part test suggested by...

The Center Square: Gavin Newsom’s national Constitutional amendment to limit gun access put on hold

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The Center Square: Gavin Newsom’s national Constitutional amendment to limit gun access put on hold

“Doing a convention puts every civil right we have in this country at risk,” said Viki Harrison, Director of Constitutional Conventions and Protecting Dissent Programs for left-of-center watchdog group Common Cause in an interview with The Center Square. “The entire Constitution could be rewritten.”

“The amendment process is a lot more in the open,” Harrison said. “You're going through the state legislatures where people can testify. You are going through Congress where people can interact with their legislators...

The Oregonian: Oregon labor group launches end run around effort to curb political donations, shed light on dark money

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The Oregonian: Oregon labor group launches end run around effort to curb political donations, shed light on dark money

Kate Titus, executive director of good government group Common Cause Oregon, said that Our Oregon’s initiatives are “clearly an effort to try to derail (the proposal for stricter limits) and offer a different alternative.”

“I’m pleased that there’s a proactive movement toward campaign finance reform and more players are looking for ways to do this,” said Titus, who gave input on the development of the reform advocates’ proposal but whose organization has yet to endorse any measure for 2024. “Unfortunately, some...

The Hill (Op-Ed): How the Federal Election Commission is undermining the integrity of our elections

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The Hill (Op-Ed): How the Federal Election Commission is undermining the integrity of our elections

Georgia’s elections are all over the headlines this past week after the Trump indictment, but there is one issue key to protecting our votes missing from those headlines: transparency in campaign spending.

In Georgia, we believe all voters have a right to know when wealthy special interests are spending big to influence our vote. Unfortunately, the Federal Election Commission, the agency tasked with enforcing federal campaign finance laws, has failed Georgia voters and left us in the dark about an out-of-state group that...

Bolts: ‘We Have a Right to Put It on the Ballot’: How Organizers Are Defending Direct Democracy

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Bolts: ‘We Have a Right to Put It on the Ballot’: How Organizers Are Defending Direct Democracy

Bolts this week gathered three organizers who have fought this dynamic in each of three states that are undergoing this dynamic: Ohio, Arkansas, and Idaho. Their meeting sparked a wide-ranging conversation about their shared frustrations and strategies.

Mia Lewis, associate director of Common Cause Ohio, was active in the campaign to defeat Issue 1 this summer.

“This is a great group to be talking to,” Lewis said. “Because they’re not doing this in one state, they do these things repeatedly in different...

Ms. Magazine: Keeping Score

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Ms. Magazine: Keeping Score

“No American is above the law—not even former presidents. The charges that a federal grand jury leveled today against former President Donald Trump are profoundly serious and must go to trial. The charges themselves are unprecedented, but so are the events that led to them.

“The nonpartisan January 6 Select Committee revealed the months-long conspiracy to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election and its culmination in the deadly insurrection. Anyone and everyone who broke the laws of this nation...

KUNM: Non-partisan groups offer mixed evidence to judge deciding fairness of NM congressional map

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KUNM: Non-partisan groups offer mixed evidence to judge deciding fairness of NM congressional map

Dan Vicuña, national redistricting manager for Common Cause, said to back its answers to the test’s questions, “there is a range of evidence a court can use.”

That includes qualitative data like legislative documents and testimony.

Vicuña said that could mean asking questions like, “Were meetings held in secret? Did you see partisan votes in committees? Did you see secretive proceedings in which one party was boxed out of having any input?”

Vicuña said the mixed results could mean the...

Common Dreams: ‘Criminal Enterprise’: Trump and 18 Co-Conspirators Indicted in Georgia Election Case

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Common Dreams: ‘Criminal Enterprise’: Trump and 18 Co-Conspirators Indicted in Georgia Election Case

Common Cause Georgia executive director Aunna Dennis added that "we know today's indictment is just the beginning of what might be a long process in the courts, and that an indictment is not a conviction."

Nevertheless, Dennis said, "today's indictment of Trump and his co-conspirators highlights Georgia voters' steadfast insistence that anyone who attempts to steal our most sacred of rights must be held accountable."

"The people of Georgia can now take a moment to reflect on what type of government we want moving...

Raw Story: Sold! Wealthy N.Y. congressman dumps up to $37.1 million in stocks and bonds amid pressure to divest

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Raw Story: Sold! Wealthy N.Y. congressman dumps up to $37.1 million in stocks and bonds amid pressure to divest

“When elected officials are trading stocks at a time when they’re supposed to be overseeing companies, we need to make sure that the public has the faith and confidence that elected officials are doing the bidding of the public interest and not trying to line their pockets and do what’s in their private interest,” Aaron Scherb, senior director of legislative affairs for Common Cause, a nonpartisan government reform organization, said at the time.

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