United Wisconsin and Grassroots Northshore Call for Reversal of Citizens United

Grassroots campaign kicks off to place referendums on ballot 

Building upon the nationwide Move to Amend movement to
get big money out of elections, United Wisconsin and Grassroots Northshore are kicking off petition drives this weekend in the villages of Shorewood and
Whitefish Bay. The goal is to place advisory referendums on the ballot calling for the reversal of the 2010 Supreme Court Citizens
United ruling.

The petition drives in
Shorewood and Whitefish Bay would mark the latest municipalities in Wisconsin to go on record in opposition to the 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United. This decision enabled
corporate entities power to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence
elections, overturning nearly a century of settled law regarding campaign
finance in the United States.

“It is time for the
people of Shorewood and Whitefish Bay to make their voices heard about the
corrupting influence of corporate special interest money in our elections,”
said Keith Schmitz of Grassroots Northshore. “With these petition drives, our community will have the opportunity do just that, and to join with states and
cities across the country who are demanding big money out of politics.”

On April 2, 2013, Chippewa County, along
with the cities of Fort Atkinson and Whitewater passed referendums by wide
margins calling for the reversal of the Citizens
United, joining the cities of West Allis, Monona and Madison, along with

Dane and Eau Claire Counties who have taken similar action since 2010. A

similar petition campaign is underway in the city of Wauwatosa.

The language on the
referendum is as follows:

Shall the Village of Shorewood adopt the following resolution:

RESOLVED,
the Village of Shorewood, Wisconsin, calls for reclaiming democracy from the
corrupting effects of undue corporate influence by amending the United States
Constitution to establish that:

1. Only human
beings, not corporations, are entitled to constitutional rights, and

2. Money is
not speech, and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is
not equivalent to limiting political speech.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we hereby instruct our state
and federal representatives to enact resolutions and legislation to advance
this effort.

Shall the Village of Whitefish
Bay adopt the following resolution:

RESOLVED,
Village of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, calls for reclaiming democracy from the
corrupting effects of undue corporate influence by amending the United States
Constitution to establish that:

1. Only
human beings, not corporations, are entitled to constitutional rights, and

2. Money is
not speech, and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is
not equivalent to limiting political speech.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we hereby instruct our state
and federal representatives to enact resolutions and legislation to advance
this effort.

For
additional information, contact Grassroots Northshore member Shirley Horowitz
at (414) 963-9467.