Letter from David Cobb:

Hello folks,

I am sending this out to folks who I work with or who I know to be actively engaged in the movement to challenge the legal doctrines that enshrine and protect corporate rule, and who are dedicated to building a real democracy movement in this country.

I am writing because there is an exciting political development underway in Humboldt County California with truly national significance. The election is this June 6, and I am hoping you will consider commenting/reporting/blogging on this story within your own networks. Please forward it as you see fit.

Local citizens have used the initiative process to launch a ballot initiative that will prohibit large out-of-county corporations from making political contributions in local elections. Not only does this effort address a real and concrete problem, but the initiative includes a direct challenge to the legal doctrine that a corporation must be treated as a "person" with vested constitutional rights! A political reporter from the LA Times is here to cover the election because, in his words, "this is the most exciting local initiative on the ballot in the entire state."

John Bonifaz, the founder of After Downing Street as well as the National Voting Rights Institute, agrees. He has called this initiative "one of the most important local democracy efforts happening anywhere in the United States. If this passes, it will have profound ramifications for campaign finance reform efforts across the country."

And to make it even sweeter, the core campaign team is being lead by young women! The two campaign managers, the media spokesperson and the treasurer are all woman in their twenties. I am the token middle-aged white male lawyer in the crew....

Below is the story that will appear in the next issue of The Progressive Populist.

Please feel free to contact me directly or the campaign itself at 707-444-0407. The campaign website is at www.votelocalcontrol.org

In solidarity,
David Cobb
Fellow, Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution
(www.libertytreefdr.org)
Collective Member, Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County (www.duhc.org)
707-476-8502 (home/office)

[follow the link below to read David's article]
A New Populist Uprising
The Progressive Populist
June 1, 2006

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