Allan Appel Photo
Local activists came to City Hall seeking to cut money out of politics — with a plastic knife, and with a vote. Then they celebrated what Downtown Alderman Doug Hausladen called a “birthday for democracy.”
They did that Wednesday night. They brought the pictured cake to an aldermanic committee meeting(and cut it). Then they urged aldermen to pass a non-binding proposal calling on the U.S. to stop considering corporations “people.”
Their voice was heard. The Board of Aldermen’s Human Services Committee passed a resolution by Hausladen asking Connecitcut’s U.S. congressional delegation to call for a constitutional convention to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the Citizens United case.
The resolution now goes to the full board for approval.
Hausladen with Hynes and Campbell.
Before Wednesday night’s meeting, after 40 people rallied in front of City Hall. They then climbed the steps with their placards and offered a sympathetic committee nearly two hours of history, economics, and legal reasons why “corporations are not people, money is not speech, and our democracy should not be for sale,” as Chris Campbell, executive director of Wolf-Pac, testified.
Elkin and fellow activists wiggled their fingers approvingly after testimony.
In his prepared remarks to the committee Hausladen said he’d like to see the effects of two U.S. Supreme Court decisions erased by a constitutional amendment. One is in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission, which struck down limitations on political spending by unions and companies. The other is McComish v. Bennett, which struck down a program that allowed publicly financed campaigns to receive multiple payments of public matching dollars to compete with privately financed campaigns, including those funded by corporations. Millions of newly freed dollar from wealthy people have flowed into the current Republican presidential campaign thanks to the rulings, which paved the way forthe rise of “super PACs.”
Underlying each Supreme Court decision is the notion that corporations are people, and thus entitled to spend their money freely on advertising for candidates under the First Amendment’s protection of free speech.
Click here for a previous story of how the resolution came about. And here for a full copy of the document.
Similar resolutions have passed in Los Angeles and New York City and in Vermont. Common Cause’s Kim Hynes said she is helping to organize like-minded resolutions in six other Connecticut cities, including Stamford, Milford, Hartford, Bridgeport, Norwalk, and Willimantic.
“Strategically we’re completely aligned. Tactically, Congress needs both a carrot and a stick, the stick being the threat of a convention,” said Campbell.
“I’m happy the will of the people has been expressed,” Hausladen said after the vote. He argued that the issue has pressing local significance. “Half our Democracy Fund [which allows for publicly financed mayoral elections] has been deemed illegal [because of the MComish decision]. This is not far off. It’s a very local problem. it’s not going to take much for someone to comment that money is [already] buying our local elections.”
After the vote Hausladen approached the cake in the above photo. Westville Alderman and Commitee Chair Sergio Rodriguez was already carving it.
“Cut the money right out. I call this a birthday for democracy,” Hausladen declared.
The committee also unanimously passed another non-binding resolution, this one submitted by the New Haven Peace Commission that calls on Congress and the president to redirect military spending to domestic priorities. At the request of the submitter, Commission President Al Marder, Alderwoman Dolores Colon amended the resolution so that the identical language will be offered as a referendum for the people of New Haven to vote on at the November elections. This resolution also goes to the full board.