News Clips

“Senator Ben Allen is a true leader in advancing reforms that create an inclusive democracy,” said California Common Cause Executive Director Kathay Feng. “From limiting the influence of big money special interests to modernizing our elections to spreading redistricting reforms, we could not have achieved these advances without Senator Allen.”

Sylvia Moore, an organizer from California Common Cause, which works to increase voter participation, held a workshop to teach students how campaign contributions influence elections. Moore said she thinks campaign contributions can influence how politicians vote on bills that affect higher education affordability. “It is important for students to get involved (in elections) because these issues affect them and their future,” she said.

“Senate Bill 45 closes a loophole in California law that local elected officials had exploited to boost their name ID ahead of an election,” Heidorn said. “We applaud Sen. Mendoza for introducing this important bill and Gov. Brown for signing it into law.”

CA Common Cause also advocated strongly for the bill. “Every voter has a right to know who is trying to influence our votes and our Legislature,” said Nicolas Heidorn, the group’s legislative affairs director, in a statement. “While Congress and federal agencies fail to act to require more transparency in the post-Citizens United era, the Disclose Act will continue California’s leadership in building a strong and transparent democracy.”

Kathy Feng, executive director of California Common Cause, an ethics watchdog group, said employee donors are worrisome. "There's been a long history of coercion of employees to take political positions or make donations at the direction of their employers," Feng said. "There is a power relationship. A staff person might feel compelled to donate regardless of how they might feel personally about a candidate or a campaign."

A typical political ad for a ballot measure in California might include something like this: "Paid for by Yes on Proposition 99 — Good Jobs and Safe Streets, with major funding by People for Good Jobs and Safe Streets." This meets the legal requirement of disclosure under current rules, but it doesn't give voters any help at all identifying the real people, organizations and industries propping up this fictional initiative. In fact, it may even be misleading. And in this post-Citizens United world, where campaign spending has soared, clear disclosure of who is funding measures and candidates is more important than ever.