"Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder" - George Washington.
In this election year, Jo Chamberlain, Co-Chair of the U.S. Green Party Steering Committee and Coastside resident, asks, "Who will buy the next election?" Ms. Chamberlain, who does not tiptoe around her opinions, states, "The scandal of the Enron affair is that it represents business as usual, the buying of influence at all levels of government." If Jo Chamberlain had her way, politicians - in the tradition of NASCAR drivers - would wear logos of their "sponsors" on their business suits, "so we could see who they are beholden to. Most people don't realize how cheap it is to take back our government. For a penny a day, citizens could remove corrupting influences by providing public financing of candidates' campaigns;" a mere $3.65 per person, per year.
Sponsored by Half Moon Bay based Coastside Peace, a growing community of local
citizens, Jo Chamberlain will be speaking at The Johnston House Ocean Shore
Depot Building, in Half Moon Bay, at 7:45 PM, on Thursday evening, 26 February,
2004. Admission is $10, though no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Ms. Chamberlain's event will be followed, the next evening, Friday, 27 February, with a film on the 2000 presidential election, also at The Depot. The award winning film, UNPRECEDENTED: THE 2000 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, documents the battle for the presidency in 2000 and the undermining of democracy in America. The film will screen at 7:30 pm and will be followed by a discussion period. A $5 donation is requested at the door.
Ms. Chamberlain, the Green Party Candidate for the State Assembly for the 19th District in 2000, and a well-known figure on local issues, sees public financing of election campaigns as the best means of restoring democratic government. Ms. Chamberlain will be speaking on a model of campaign finance reform law that serves the voters. In an era where it seems that citizens have been edged out of our own election process by monied interests, Ms. Chamberlain will show us how new laws passed in Maine and Arizona have enabled these states to make important changes.
In Arizona, Democrat Janet Napolitano was the first governor elected in the U.S. running "clean." Napolitano qualified for public funding by collecting more than 4,000 $5 qualifying contributions from registered voters, while agreeing to strict spending limits and no other private money. In return, she got $2.3 million in Clean Money public funding.
"The people of Arizona and Maine should feel proud," said Nick Nyhart of Public Campaign, speaking of the 2000 elections, "while big money set new records everywhere else, in these two states, scores of clean candidates were elected without owing any favors to private special interest contributors." Sixty-two percent of candidates in Maine and 53% in Arizona ran "clean" in the general election of 2002, about double the rate in 2000.
Jo Chamberlain's presentation is fourth in a series of monthly events sponsored by Coastside Peace. Coastside peace has also brought author and Global Exchange co-founder Kevin Danaher, author and economist Richard Heinberg and International peace activist, author and Global Exchanger co-founder Medea Benjamin to Half Moon Bay. Ms. Benjamin's presentation brought record breaking attendance to the Community Center. "More than 250 people attended this standing room only presentation. Clearly, the Coastside community cares about peace issues," says Shari Deghi, Coastside Peace member and organizer. This grassroots group is dedicated to creating a local dialog on global issues by sponsoring educational forums on issues of peace, justice, globalization, the environment and human rights.
Coastside Peace meets the second Tuesday of each month at 7:30 at Moon News Bookstore, 315 Main Street, Half Moon Bay and all are welcome to participate. Our next meeting is February 10, 2004. For more information, please visit the web site at www.coastsidepeace.org.