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From: Brodie Lockard <brodielockard@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 2015 12:44 AM 2015 SEP —I AN .gt1
To: Council Testimony
Subject: In strong support of Resolution 266-15
Office of the County Clerk
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, HI 96720
Chair Kanuha, Vice Chair Poindexter, and Council Members:
The Common Cause Hawaii board thanks you for the opportunity to testify in strong support of
Resolution 266-15.
We often hear exaggerations about "the death of democracy." Low voter turnout! A bribe!
Ills like voter apathy, corruption and gridlock are indeed detrimental and will always be with us to
some extent.
But Citizens United, McCutcheon and their ilk are the essence of destroying democracy: eliminating
rule by the people. They are insidious in their indirectness, and are dismantling American democracy
in ways we have never seen, to an extent we have never seen, and at a speed we have never seen.
Of course individuals can still write letters to the editor or stand on a soapbox somewhere, but only a
very few can buy up literally every minute of advertising time in a given media market.
Not surprisingly, the priorities of those wealthy few differ markedly from the priorities of the general
public, in such areas as tax and budget, trade and globalization, regulation of business, labor, the
social safety net, and the overall role of government [1].
And in our current system, the wealthy elect our government, not the general public. In July, donors
in just 10 wealthy zip codes gave more to top presidential candidates than all the donors in the
country's 3,400 middle-income zip codes [2].
The only people who still think money is speech are those with plenty of it, and those who choose to
ignore the mounting effects of that idea.
As for corporations, many do great good for society, like the American Red Cross and Easter Seals.
But it's clear why for-profit corporations and sham "public service" not -for -profits should have far less
influence on our politics, if they should have any at all. Recall Monsanto and Dow's $7.9 million
campaign last year against Maui residents' concerns about pesticide overuse and contamination of
organic crops. Or Chevron's blatant $3 million campaign last year to buy the mayor's seat and entire
City Council of Richmond, CA, where they have faced tens of millions in environmental and safety
fines over the years. Were they backing the most just, qualified candidates for the good of the city?
Comm. No, 4 14,9, o
Ref. To:
Ref. Date SEP 0 2 2015
The credibility of corporations' illegitimate rights is bolstered largely by the legal fiction of "corporate
personhood." Any amendment to rein in political spending must negate this harmful fallacy. The free
speech granted corporations under its guise is not at all in the public interest.
In the first election after Citizens United, outside spending nationally increased 346% over the
previous midterms. In the first presidential election after Citizens United, it increased 206% [3].
In last year's election, more Super PAC money was spent in Hawaii than in any election cycle in state
history: $10.3 million on ballot initiatives and $5.3 million on candidates [4].
We urge the Council to pass this resolution. As long as these court decisions stand, we may expect
ever -stronger typhoons of corporate money and tornadoes of billionaire money, while the average
citizen's voice diminishes to a level no more influential in how society functions than a breeze in the
trees.
Brodie Lockard, Board Member
Common Cause Hawaii
[1] http://www.demos.org/stacked-deck-how-dominance-politics-affluent-business-undermines-
economic-mobility-america#priorities
[2] http://www.evervvoicecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/ColorOfMoneyFinal.pdf
[3] http://www.opensecrets.or.q/news/reports/citizens united.php
[4] http://ags.hawaii.gov/campaign/files/2015/01/2014E[ectionBallotSummary.pdf,
http://ags.hawaii.gov/campaign/files/2015/01/2014EIectionlESumma! y.pdf