To: The Hawaii State House, The Hawaii State Senate, and Governor David Ige
Ask Your Legislators: What are you doing about money in politics?
Dear Governor Abercrombie, Senators, and Representatives:
Mahalo for your service to our community as an elected official. We are a group of citizens who have come together around a shared concern: We are worried that our democracy is increasingly "under the influence” of campaign money, special-interest lobbying, gifts, and special connections and access. We are extremely concerned that this leads to undue influence in our public policymaking process, and fuels cynicism and distrust among the public.
We believe that government must serve all of us, and we want to ensure the process works for the public interest. We believe that more can be done to keep money and special interest influence out of politics, ensure transparency in government, and encourage citizen participation.
What are your plans to address these concerns during the 2012 legislative session?
We look forward to your reply; we can be reached at [email protected].
Mahalo for your time and attention to this important issue.
Why is this important?
The 2012 legislative session has begun, and it is time to ask your legislators: "What are you planning to do this session to address citizen concern about the influence of money and connections in policy-making?" The time is now. Let's urge our legislators to take action this session to address these critical issues for our democracy. We know that so much more can be done to reduce the undue influence of money in politics, ensure stronger disclosure of campaign spending, strengthen our ethics laws, and promote transparency and citizen participation.