October 23, 2019
Press Contact: Tomara Aldrich, Rockland United (347) 225-7119, tomarasue@gmail.com
_________________
LOWER HUDSON VALLEY ACTIVISTS CALL FOR CLEAN MONEY COMMITMENTS FROM CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES IN NY17 DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY
A coalition of grassroots groups (activists) in the lower Hudson Valley is calling on all Democratic candidates for the CD 17 seat to reject corporate PAC money through the primaries. The call comes from local progressive groups in Rockland (Rockland United, Rockland Citizens Action Network) and Westchester (Progressive Women of New York, CCoHOPE Indivisible), all of whom have been active in state and local races since 2017. As Democratic candidates begin to declare their candidacies for the seat being vacated by retiring Congresswoman Nita Lowey, Hudson Valley has the opportunity to be a model for the nation by stemming the flow of dark and corporate PAC money that has flooded political races since the 2010 Citizens United U.S. Supreme Court decision. Limiting the influence of big money in this race would prevent wealthy corporations from influencing our elections, as well as legislative decisions, post-election. Such a commitment to how candidates fund their races would amplify the voices of women, people of color, and working and middle class New Yorkers who are so often under-represented in the political process.
“Unless and until we can rid the system of the corrupting influence of corporate money, our political leaders will be beholden to the corporations instead of the people,” argues Rockland United activist Paul Diamond. “The successful national campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren show the power of small dollar donations,” he added.
In its first bill of the 2019 legislative session, Congressional Democrats passed HR1, a sweeping bill that would “expand Americans' access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, and strengthen ethics’ rules for public servants, and for other purposes.” In a district where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 2:1 margin, this race provides Democrats a rare opportunity to put these values into practice and become a model for the Country by rejecting all corporate PAC money in the Democratic Primary.
So far, only one of three confirmed candidates has pledged his intention to refuse corporate PAC money, while the other two have made no such pledge and have benefited from the use of PAC funds in prior elections “What I can say is that local grassroots groups will have a hard time putting boots on the ground to work for any candidate who has not made a full throated commitment to rejecting this money,” said local activist Ivanya Alpert. Progressive groups have long been frustrated by the lip service paid to reforming the practice while the politicians continue to raise large sums of money from corporate interest groups. This high profile race is an opportunity to put candidates on notice that grassroots voters are no longer willing to accept the status-quo. “Barack Obama once said that we should be the change we want to see in the world,’” said Tomara Aldrich. “It is time for Democrats to take his advice.”