Learn more about the 'I Stand With St. Pete Campaign' in recent news
St. Petersburg City Council votes to move forward a model law to abolish super PACs and limit foreign corporate money in local elections
Free Speech For People • June 22, 2017
The St. Petersburg City Council voted to move forward an ordinance that will abolish super PACs and prohibit spending by foreign-influenced corporations in city elections. The St. Petersburg City Council vote marks a huge victory for the people all across the city who have stood up to demand an end to super PACs and foreign-influenced corporations threatening the integrity of their local elections.
Federal Election Commissioner Ellen Weintraub: FEC Must "Respond Forcefully" to Foreign Election Interference
Free Speech For People • June 22, 2017
Federal Election Commissioner Ellen Weintraub today told her fellow Commissioners that the FEC must “respond forcefully” to reports of foreign attempts to influence the 2016 election. As she explained, “This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for our democracy.”
Defend Our Democracy ordinance means limiting big money and foreign influence in elections can start right here in St. Petersburg
Tampa Bay Times • June 20, 2017
Federal Election Commissioner Ellen Weintraub told her fellow Commissioners that the FEC must “respond forcefully” to reports of foreign attempts to influence the 2016 election. As she explained, “This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for our democracy.”
John Bonifaz Interview With Radioactivity WMNF 88.5FM
Radioactivity WMNF • June 16, 2017
On Friday, Radioactivity host Rob Lorei of WMNF 88.5 in St. Petersburg, Florida, spoke with Free Speech For People co-founder John Bonifaz, on campaign finance reform and impeaching President Trump.
Keep super PAC Cash Out of St. Petersburg Elections
Tampa Bay Times • July 15, 2016
The consequences of the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United, which opened the door for corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence local, state and federal elections, continue to poison American democracy. Spending on all levels of elections has skyrocketed, and super PACs — organizations that allow wealthy funders to funnel unlimited amounts of money through outside spending groups — now threaten the integrity of even our local elections.
Plotting the End of Super PACs
The American Prospect • July 21, 2016
Having met with skepticism earlier this month when they lodged an FEC complaint challenging super PACs, reform advocates are now rallying behind a St. Petersburg ordinance that would ban super PACs locally.
Florida Town Proposes a Ban on Super PACs—What Could Happen?
YES! Magazine • July 21, 2016
It could have seemed like a singular act of defiance to abolish super PACs in one Florida town. Members of the City Council in St. Petersburg approved 6-1 today a motion to consider an ordinance that would limit the amount donors can give to groups that support or oppose candidates in local elections.
St. Pete, Let's Take a Bite Out of Citizens United
The Weekly Challenger • September 16, 2016
Money in politics—who doesn’t want to get money out of politics? Too many good people do not run for office because it costs so much. Others become candidates only to be left in the dust because they don’t have enough money to run a decent campaign. Since 2010, when the U.S. Supreme Court decided Citizens United, money has flooded our elections.