More than 80% of Americans—Democratic, Republican and Independents—support initiatives to limit corporate campaign contributions. Increasingly candidates for elected office, even in Virginia, are running and winning on campaign platforms of not taking money from Super PACs and big money donors. To date, 19 states have ratified legislation supporting a Constitutional amendment to reverse Citizens United, prompted by a belief that such a Constitutional amendment is needed to ensure that our citizens have as much influence with our elected officials as big money interests. Join us for an evening with co-founder and President of American Promise, Jeff Clements and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hedrick Smith who will lead this discussion. This event will explore options to address the issue of money in politics.

Jeff Clements and Hedrick Smith will cover:

• The Supreme Court Citizens United ruling in 2010 and related court cases
• The impact of these court cases
• The growing impact of money in our political system
• How local communities have responded to this issue
• And how you can become involved in the efforts to win a 28th Amendment

Jeff Clements is a founder and president of American Promise. He has practiced law for three decades in public service and private practice, and is the author of Corporations Are Not People: Reclaiming Democracy From Big Money & Global Corporations. He is also the founder of Whaleback Partners LLC, which provides sustainable financing to businesses in the local agriculture economy. Previously, Jeff has been a partner in a major Boston law firm and served as Assistant Attorney General and Chief of the public law enforcement bureau in the Attorney General’s Office in Massachusetts.

Hedrick Smith, Pulitzer Prize-winning former New York Times reporter and editor and Emmy award-winning producer and correspondent, has established himself over the past 50 years of his career as one of America’s most distinguished journalists. In 26 years with The New York Times, Mr. Smith covered Martin Luther King Jr and the civil rights struggle, the Vietnam War in Saigon, the Middle East conflict from Cairo, the Cold War from both Moscow and Washington, and six American presidents and their administrations. In 1974, he won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting from Russia and Eastern Europe, is the author of Who Stole the American Dream and most recently is the creator of a new documentary Winning Back Our Democracy and the recent film, The People vs The Politicians.

This event is in partnership and co-sponsored by Network NOVA, Activate Virginia, and People Demanding Action .

If you would like to co-sponsor this event please contact Outreach Manager, Wambui Gatheru, at wambuig@americanpromise.net