Lakewood Citizen Group To Discuss Money In Politics

A public forum will be held on Saturday, January 19 to discuss building a Lakewood citizen initiative to address money in politics. The event will be held in the auditorium of the Lakewood Public Main Library, 15425 Detroit Ave., at 1:00 pm. The meeting, sponsored by the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee and a group of Lakewood citizens, will explore use of a citizen initiative to end the doctrine established by the United States Supreme Court in Citizens United v FEC, which allowed unlimited money to flow into elections. The Citizens United decision allowed the formation of "Super PACs" that funded record campaign spending to influence the outcome of the November election. The Lakewood meeting coincides with the third anniversary of the Citizens United decision.

The forum will begin with a 10-minute film "Story of Citizens United v FEC." The film will be followed by a discussion of the implication of money in politics. State Representative Nickie Antonio will attend and Lakewood City Council Member Tom Bullock has been invited to offer reflections after the film.

A citizen initiative in Lakewood would join the resolutions passed in Brecksville and Newburgh Heights last year that called upon Congress to support a 28th amendment to the United States Constitution that declares that

--Only human beings, not corporations, are legal persons with Constitutional rights and

--Money is not equivalent to speech and therefore regulation of political contributions and spending does not equate to limiting political speech.

In addition to the Ohio initiatives, a total of 11 states and 350 towns and cities have passed resolutions that call for a Constitutional amendment to address the Citizens United decision.

More information on the nationwide Move to Amend organization is available at www.MoveToAmend.org.

The forum on January 19 is free and open to the public.

Trudy Hutchinson is a Lakewood resident interested in community activism.