FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 23, 2019
Contact: Emily Phelps | press@indivisible.org
New York, NY — Today, Lauren Boc, State Policy Manager with the Indivisible Project, issued the following statement in response to the New York Public Financing Commission’s decision to limit small donor matching to in-district donors:
"The Public Financing Commission made a grave mistake in voting to limit New York’s small donor matching system to donations from inside the candidate’s district. The decision to allow state political parties, but not individual candidates, to raise money statewide will dramatically benefit establishment-favored incumbents and disincentivize candidates from participating in the matching program. Primary challenges are a critical part of a healthy democracy, but this system tip the scales even further in incumbents’ favor.
“Campaign finance reform is essential to creating a transparent, progressive government in Albany. A robust, 6-to-1 small donor matching system would amplify the voices of women; of people of color; of the working and middle classes; and of any and all under-represented New Yorkers in the political process. Indivisibles across New York fought hard for small donor matching this year, and we are disheartened to learn that the commissioners appointed by Governor Cuomo and Assembly Speaker Heastie, along with Commissioner Henry Berger, have voted to gut our future small donor matching program by limiting matching to in-district donations. This is a dramatic reversal of last week’s vote to allow statewide donations, and we can only conclude that Albany’s infamous backroom political scheming is to blame.”
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The Indivisible Project is a registered 501(c)(4) nonprofit. Our mission is to cultivate and lift up a grassroots movement of local groups to defeat the Trump agenda, elect progressive leaders, and realize bold progressive policies. Across the nation, thousands of local groups are using the Indivisible Guide to hold their members of Congress accountable.