Dear Bhupal,
Have you heard? Maryland is close to becoming our eighth Clean Elections state! The House of Delegates is prepared to pass a bill to provide full public financing for statewide and legislative candidates who forego private donations and agree to strict spending limits. Governor Martin O'Malley says he will sign a Clean Elections bill if it gets to his desk -- now it's up to us and the Maryland Senate to complete the job. Twenty Senators are already in support; all we need is five more Senators on board.
Your contribution will go a long way towards helping us organize door to door canvasses through out Maryland!
Public financing helps cut the ties between wealthy special interests who give big money to campaigns and elected officials. With Clean Elections, our elected officials are accountable to voters, not wealthy campaign contributors. Already seven states, Maine, Arizona, Connecticut, North Carolina, New Mexico, New Jersey, and Vermont have public financing laws on the books.
A groundswell of support for Clean Elections at the state level will translate to momentum for change in both more states and at the federal level. Washington, DC is in Maryland's backyard: a win there will make Capitol Hill sit up and take notice. But time is running short -- we expect a vote on Clean Elections to take place in early March.
We are ready to send an informational packet to Maryland residents. Your gift will help make sure that the maximum amount of people can be contacted.
The opponents of Clean Elections -- insider lobbyists and big money special interests -- are working hard to keep us from getting the votes in the Senate that will put Clean Elections over the top. Clean Elections will change politics as usual and the years of special interest access and back room deals in Annapolis that have come with big money contributions.
Public Campaign and our Maryland allies are engaged in a host of activities to educate Marylanders about Clean Elections. We are operating "phone banks" nightly, staffed with volunteers calling Maryland residents and asking them to contact their Senators voicing support for the bill -- this is crucial to winning this campaign.
To run these phone banks for five more weeks we need $9,000, can you help us raise it? Every dollar you can give will mean another call we can make!
We know we can count on you. Thanks so much for all you have done and will do to make Clean Elections a reality across the country.
Warmest Regards,Nick NyhartPresident and CEO
