A project of the Money Out/Voters In (MOVI) Coalition, the Get Money Out Campaign seeks to unite activists, politicians, and personalities working on diverse issues to address their root causes-- Citizens United and campaign finance reform. As a co-chair of the media committee, I developed this campaign as a result of my experiences reporting for the Occupy movement and my webshow, The Undercurrent. I capitalized on some established memes: the iconic "Got Milk?" ads, the money-over-the-mouth visual from Occupy, and the name itself from early campaign finance reform advocate Dylan Ratigan.
Whereas Ratigan's "Get Money Out" was an actual organization, which later merged into United Republic, ours is activist advertising, branding not just for MOVI, but for the entire movement. Our mission is to build the coalition through memes. California Common Cause, CalPIRG, Represent.Us (formerly United Republic), WolfPAC, and 99Rise are all supporters.
Our debut features Los Angeles City Councilmembers Richard Alarcón, Paul Koretz, and Bill Rosendahl, who all supported putting Proposition C on the 2013 mayoral ballot, with pressure from MOVI, California Common Cause, and CalPIRG. A non-binding resolution, Prop C will give Angelenos the opportunity to weigh in on overturning Citizens United, eliminating corporate personhood, and supporting campaign finance reform. Councilman Alarcón introduced the motion to draft the resolution back in December of 2012, and it passed in January in a 13-1 vote. Signatories of the endorsing argument include Councilman Rosendahl, California Common Cause Executive Director Kathay Feng, MOVI Co-Founder Mary Beth Fielder, and seven others. No dissenting arguments were submitted.
Should the measure pass, it will mark the endorsement for reform by the largest electorate in the country to date. Thus, Prop C is a fitting rollout for Get Money Out. Voters of Los Angeles, join your city council and put your money where your mouth is. On Tuesday, May 21, vote yes on Proposition C!
