FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Concerns About Big Money, Attacks on Rights Will Propel Reform Efforts

Contact: Bruce Mirken, Greenlining Institute Media Relations Coordinator, 510-926-4022; 415-846-7758 (cell)

SACRAMENTO – New survey results released today show substantial voter concern about the influence of special interest money on ballot initiative campaigns and the use of the initiative system to attack people’s rights. Voters said they want greater transparency regarding funders behind ballot measure campaigns, greater review and oversight of initiatives, and more information to help make decisions when voting. The survey data and results from a statewide listening tour were released this morning at a state capitol briefing for policymakers and the media.

(more…)

Sen. Loni Hancock, Asm. Paul Fong to Join Reps from Greenlining Institute, CA Voter Foundation to Discuss New Poll Results, Responses from Statewide Listening Tour

Contact: Bruce Mirken, Greenlining Institute Media Relations Coordinator, 510-926-4022; 415-846-7758 (cell)

SACRAMENTO – California officials and politicos have long been talking about the ballot initiative system and possible reforms. Last year, concerned by the growing influence of special interest money and use of the initiative system to attack civil rights, The Greenlining Institute decided to take up the issue and to start by finding out what real Californians think. After assembling a diverse, 33-person advisory board, Greenlining commissioned a two-wave public opinion survey of a representative sample of state voters and mounted a statewide listening tour that visited 14 California cities.

(more…)

Senate Rules Committee Hearing Today, 1:30 p.m.

Contact:
Samuel S. Kang, Greenlining Institute General Counsel, 415-317-5946 (cell)
Bruce Mirken, Greenlining Institute Media Relations Coordinator, 510-926-4022; 415-846-7758 (cell)

SACRAMENTO – With the Senate Rules Committee preparing to hold a hearing this afternoon on the nominations of Catherine J.K. Sandoval and Michel P. Florio to the California Public Utilities Commission, The Greenlining Institute strongly urged confirmation of these two consumer-friendly nominees.
(more…)

MEDIA ADVISORY

Contact: Bruce Mirken, Greenlining Institute Media Relations Coordinator, 510-926-4022; 415-846-7758 (cell)

FRESNO – Federal healthcare reform is already beginning to affect California, but many Californians know little about the changes that are coming, a problem that The Greenlining Institute is hoping to remedy with the next in its statewide series of town hall meetings, scheduled for Jan. 18 in Fresno.

The event is the latest in a series of town halls that Greenlining has held around California, with an emphasis on the needs of communities of color and low-income Californians. Experts will provide information about the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and solicit input from audience members about their questions and concerns as well as suggestions for effective implementation of the law in California.

WHAT: Town Hall meeting regarding California implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

WHO: Alexis Dennis, Health Fellow, The Greenlining Institute; members of the public

WHERE: Chicano Youth Center, 1515 Divisadero Street, Fresno, CA 93721

WHEN: Wednesday, Jan. 18, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

###

THE GREENLINING INSTITUTE
A Multi-Ethnic Public Policy, Research and Advocacy Institute
www.greenlining.org

Campaign Kick-Offs This Weekend in Oakland, Palo Alto, San Francisco With State Legislators and Local Officials

Contact: Bruce Mirken, Greenlining Institute Media Relations Coordinator, 510-926-4022; 415-846-7758 (cell)

SAN FRANCISCO – The Greenlining Institute today endorsed Assembly Bill 1148, the California DISCLOSE Act, to improve funder disclosure on political advertisements. Authored by Assemblymember Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica) and sponsored by the California Clean Money Campaign, AB 1148 will require the largest funders of campaigns to be clearly identified in political advertisements. Wealthy special interests often fund political advertising while hiding behind deceptively named campaign committees. AB 1148 would require that top donors be listed by actual donor name.

(more…)

Contact: Bruce Mirken, Greenlining Institute Media Relations Coordinator, 415-846-7758 (cell)

WASHINGTON – The Greenlining Institute today applauded President Obama’s expected recess appointment of Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Greenlining Institute Executive Director Orson Aguilar commented:

“President Obama did absolutely the right thing, and the senators who blocked Mr. Cordray’s confirmation all year in an attempt to weaken protections for consumers should be ashamed of themselves. Creation of CFPB as a tough, independent consumer protection agency was best thing to come out of the financial crisis, and no one needs that protection more than the communities we represent. Communities of color got hammered by predatory and dishonest lending, and we’re relieved that the cop on the beat we’ve needed for so long is finally able to get to work.

“What’s been frustrating in all of this is that a majority of senators supported Cordray’s confirmation, but a minority was able to block the Senate from voting. It’s time for the Senate’s leadership to address the growing misuse of the filibuster. It is simply undemocratic to require a super-majority for everything, and it’s not what the framers of the constitution intended.”

###

THE GREENLINING INSTITUTE
A Multi-Ethnic Public Policy, Research and Advocacy Institute
www.greenlining.org

Contact: Bruce Mirken, Greenlining Institute Media Relations Coordinator, 510-926-4022; 415-846-7758 (cell)

Greenlining Institute Asks: Will the Zynga “Grinch” Steal San Francisco’s Christmas After Whopping Tax Breaks?

SAN FRANCISCO – After receiving millions in tax breaks from the city of San Francisco and on the eve of the largest Internet company stock offering since Google, Zynga hasn’t followed through on its promise to invest its wealth back into San Francisco’s communities, The Greenlining Institute said today.  Over the summer Greenlining shined a light on high-tech tax avoidance in its report, Corporate America Untaxed: Tax Avoidance on the Rise.
(more…)

Contact: Bruce Mirken, Greenlining Institute Media Relations Coordinator, 510-926-4022; 415-846-7758 (cell);

Misperceptions About Economics, Health, Discrimination May Skew Politics, Fuel Conflicts

BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA – A new analysis of some of the most definitive survey data available, to be released Dec. 12, finds a huge gulf in perceptions between black and white Americans on a wide range of issues, a gulf that may be contributing to America’s increasingly divisive politics.

(more…)

Contact: Bruce Mirken, Greenlining Institute Media Relations Coordinator, 510-926-4022; 415-846-7758 (cell)

Advocates Call Filibuster Unjustified, Bad For Consumers

WASHINGTON – The Greenlining Institute, the group that sounded the alarm about the subprime meltdown years before it became a crisis, today renewed its call for the Senate to approve Richard Cordray as head of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. An attempt to bring the nomination to a vote could happen as soon as Thursday.
(more…)

Contact: Bruce Mirken, Greenlining Institute Media Relations Coordinator, 510-926-4022; 415-846-7758 (cell);

Stall Tactic With Regulators Would Be Damaging to All, Greenlining Institute Says

BERKELEY, CALIFORNA – Communities facing harm from AT&T’s proposed takeover of T-Mobile watched with concern over the Thanksgiving weekend as the company publicly sparred with the Federal Communications Commission over the implications of AT&T’s Thanksgiving morning withdrawal of its merger application, including whether the FCC can proceed with its administrative law case.

(more…)