Memo

April 09, 2008

To: All State Senators and Assembly Representatives

From:

Re: Pass Special Session Senate Bill 1

State Capitol, March 13, 2008

Posted: March 14, 2008

I’m proud to stand with all of you today because I know you all made a personal sacrifice to be here. None of you are being paid to take part in this, and no one paid to get you here. You are here simply because you care and because you want something done in this building.

Posted: March 13, 2008
Updated: March 26, 2008

Madison - The People’s Legislature rallied today at the Capitol to shine light on the efforts of legislative leaders to run out the clock on the 2007-2008 session, which is ending seven weeks earlier than last session, and the failure of lawmakers to act on a number of high-profile bills with broad public support.

Animated Short Film Offers Updated Take on How a Bill Becomes Law

March 4, 2008

The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign today began airing a short animated feature on its Web site that parodies the classic 1975 Schoolhouse Rock educational video “I’m Just a Bill.”

Citizen assembly to convene on final day of legislative session

Posted: February 28, 2008
Updated: March 4, 2008

The People’s Legislature is planning an “Unfinished Business” rally at the State Capitol on Thursday, March 13, the last day the state Legislature is scheduled to be in session to act on general legislative business.

February 28, 2008

Since mid-February, the country has witnessed a heated debate about which presidential candidates are or are not committed to forgoing private financing of their general election campaigns this fall in favor of participating in the presidential public financing system.

Wisconsin Democrats gave more than Republicans to unregulated groups in 2007

February 26, 2008

Madison - Wisconsin contributors gave a non-election year record $1 million in 2007 to unregulated groups that collect and spend unlimited amounts on negative advertising, mailings and other outside electioneering activities, a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis shows.

Lawmakers wring record $3.9 million from special interests in 2007

February 20, 2008

Madison - Legislators accepted a record $3.86 million in campaign contributions in a non-election year, including more than $2 million in the last half of 2007 when they hobnobbed with special interests at fundraisers while working on the crucial state budget, a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis shows.

February 19, 2008

February 13, 2008

Madison - Nearly all of the largest individual contributions going to Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Louis Butler and his challenger, Michael Gableman are coming from staunch supporters of Republican and Democratic candidates in past partisan races for other statewide offices and the legislature, a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis shows.

Senate Committee on Campaign Finance Reform, Rural Issues and Information Technology

February 12, 2008

(Testimony of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign on December 2007 Special Session Senate Bill 1, Senate Bill 12, Senate Bill 25 and Senate Bill 463.)

Senate Committee on Campaign Finance Reform, Rural Issues and Information Technology

January 29, 2008

(Wisconsin Democracy Campaign testimony on Senate Bills 182 and 160.)

Invited remarks regarding expectations of GAB

Presented: January 28, 2008
Posted: February 1, 2008

TO: Government Accountability Board

FROM: Mike McCabe, Executive Director, Wisconsin Democracy Campaign

SUBJECT: Invited remarks for January 28, 2008 meeting regarding expectations of GAB

New book by Midwest reform network sounds warnings of political decay, tells of revival of democratic ideals

January 14, 2008

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As state lawmakers decide what to make of a special session on campaign finance reform, a new book released today shows how Wisconsin’s political system has grown dysfunctional and how it stacks up against four other states in the Great Lakes region.

Assembly Committee on Elections and Constitutional Law

January 10, 2008

Thank you for holding this public hearing. The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign strongly supports banning campaign fundraising during the state budget process, and with the addition of one amendment we support Assembly Bill 61.

Lawyers appear to get stiffer penalties than judges for professional misconduct

January 3, 2008

Madison - Attorneys who violate rules governing their professional behavior and ethics – or who even fail to pay their annual State Bar dues on time – get stiffer punishment than the penalties being recommended for Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Annette Ziegler who had economic conflicts of interest in dozens of cases she handled as a circuit court judge, according to a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign review.

Analysis praises reforms, warns of problems with voter database

December 3, 2007

Madison - The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign today called for heightened attention to the condition of the state’s electoral system after a new study by The Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law offered both words of praise and warning to the state.

Only Edwards and Obama Answer Questions

November 27, 2007

Madison - The Midwest Democracy Network (MDN) – a nonpartisan alliance of 20 civic and public interest groups from Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin – today released full and unedited responses to a detailed questionnaire on federal political and government reform issues from former U.S. Senator John Edwards and U.S. Senator Barack Obama, the only candidates to reply to the survey. The questionnaire, sent to all the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates on September 11, covers campaign finance, government ethics, communications policy, election laws, voting rights, and congressional redistricting.

November 9, 2007

Madison - State senators who voted for a controversial bill to change the way cable television providers are regulated in Wisconsin accepted $1.2 million in campaign contributions from special interests that support the proposal compared to less than $100,000 to senators who voted against it, a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis shows.

November 1, 2007

Thank you for holding this public hearing to gather input on the characteristics the individual you will hire as Legal Counsel to head up the staff of the new Government Accountability Board should possess.

Analysis reveals some students gave to same candidates at same time as parents

October 22, 2007

Madison - Contributors identified as “student” in campaign finance reports gave $86,243 to candidates for statewide office and the legislature from 2002 through June 2007, a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis shows.

Legislators got most big contributions from outside their districts

October 10, 2007

Madison - Wisconsin legislators elected last November collectively accepted 70 percent of their large individual contributions in the 2006 election cycle from special interest contributors who could not vote for them, a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis shows.

Posted: September 18, 2007
Updated: September 19, 2007

Madison - Between 150 and 200 members of the People’s Legislature today took part in the “Storm for Reform” on the front steps of the Capitol, demanding an end to the state budget stalemate and prompt action on political reforms.

September 13, 2007

Madison - The grassroots citizen reform movement known as the People’s Legislature will rally next Tuesday, September 18 at noon for an end to the state budget stalemate and a special session on campaign finance reform. The event – dubbed the “Storm for Reform” – will be held on the steps to the State Street entrance to the west wing of the Capitol.

September 11, 2007

Today the Midwest Democracy Network (MDN), an alliance of reform organizations in five states, called on presidential candidates to explain their positions on a variety of campaign and government reform issues.