Yesterday, the "Clean Money, Clean Elections Act" (Intro 803) was introduced into the City Council. (The full version of the bill can be found on the Council's website here. Be warned -- it's a very, very long bill.) The bill was then sent to the Governmental Operations committee, as expected.

The fight to bring full public funding of elections to New York City is just starting. Lots of powerful people and organizations -- even some self-described "reformers" -- are aligned against it. This bill has a lot to overcome, especially the feeling, shared by many intelligent, thoughtful people, that the current system is "the best in the country."

This Tuesday, July 22, at 11:00 a.m., on the steps of City Hall -- Democracy for NYC is holding a press conference to announce that the "Clean Money, Clean Elections" act will be introduced into the New York City Council.

Please join us at City Hall for the press conference; we need everyone who can make it to show support for real campaign finance reform.

If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at dan@danjacoby.com.

Just a reminder to mark your calendar for tomorrow (Tuesday, March 25) at noon for a City Hall press conference on Clean Money, Clean Elections campaign finance reform.

After last week's crane collapse, it was revealed that there were 13 building code violations -- and news reports called that "normal." Meanwhile, self-certification of buildings by the builders continues. And how did they get that? They paid for it, with campaign contributions!

This "reform that makes all other reform possible" is vital to our safety as New Yorkers. Come out and support Clean Money, Clean Elections.

Join Council Member Tony Avella and me on Tuesday, March 25, at noon, on the steps of City Hall. Council Member Avella will be announcing the "Clean Money, Clean Elections" (CMCE) bill that he is sponsoring in the City Council. The more support we can get, in the form of people coming out, the more initial impact we'll make.

CMCE will virtually eliminate private fundraising for candidates. It will truly level the playing field for candidates who don't have access to big money. It will reduce the lower of lobbyists who use big campaign donations and bundling to gain access to our elected officials. In short, CMCE will make our elected officials responsible to constituents, not special interests.

This will be an enormous uphill battle. Entrenched special interests, and the politicians in their pockets, will fight tooth and nail to maintain the current system. They'll call it "the best in the country," without a shred of evidence to back that claim up. They'll put legislative hurdles in our path.

We need every body we can get on Tuesday -- and then the real battle begins!

See you at "high noon" on Tuesday at City Hall.