It’s been five years since the Supreme Court ruling on the Citizens United case that allowed corporations to greatly increase their political spending. A grassroots movement is forming in New Orleans to reverse the decision.
About 15 people gathered in Lafayette Square to announce the formation of the New Orleans Anti-Corruption Coalition. It’s designed to counter corporate influence on politics through limits on campaign donations and spending.
One of the coalition’s founding members is Janet Hays.
“There are actions that we can take at the local level to effect the same result that we’re trying to achieve at the national level which is to reverse Citizens United in order to make campaigns more fair for everybody so everybody’s voices can be heard,” Hays said.
Madison Poche is another founding member. She says it’s inspired by a charter amendment approved last November in Florida.
“We’re modeling our local resolution off of Tallahassee," Poche said. "So they recently passed the first anti-corruption act. And their main points were to stop political bribery, to end secret money and to empower voters. And that matters on the local level, the state level and the national level.”
The coalition is lobbying the New Orleans City Council for support.
