How End Citizens United is Supporting Anti-Corruption Candidates

Farah Melendez talks about running a viable campaign without corporate PAC money.

It’s been a busy midterm cycle at End Citizens United.

This election will be a referendum on political corruption. The connections between billionaire and corporate political spending, the Trump Administration’s corruption, and the affordability crisis are the major themes of this election year. ECU-endorsed candidates across the country are running on clear anti-corruption messaging, because those candidates understand that political corruption is a root cause of the cost-of-living increases that are making life unmanageable for too many of their neighbors.

With Election Day fast approaching, a majority of the Democrats in the most pivotal Congressional races have signed onto ECU’s Unrig Washington commitment designed to root out corruption from our political system.

I talked with ECU’s Vice President of Campaigns and Organizing Farah Melendez to hear what the political team is working on with just over a month to go before Election Day.

Democracy News: Can you talk about Unrig Washington? What has made it so successful this year?

Melendez: We have more than 300 candidates or incumbents who’ve signed onto our Unrig Washington program to refuse corporate PAC money and support a ban on congressional stock trading and dark money. It’s been really exciting to see the numbers grow and hear candidates talk about getting Big Money out of politics in all kinds of districts, including very competitive districts.

All that interest is because of what candidates are hearing from voters. ECU has done a lot of research asking all kinds of voters — including Trump supporters, middle of the road voters, and others — about getting money out of politics, and across the board American voters see corruption as a major problem.

Frankly, voters are sick and tired of the backdoor dealings that politicians are making, especially when people are hurting at home. Voters don’t want to think that the people who they are electing are hurting them, so voters are getting more vocal.

Democracy News: What have some of ECU’s goals been this election cycle?

Melendez: A lot of what we do at ECU is help candidates see that they can run viable campaigns without corporate PAC money. This cycle, we’ve even seen candidates change their position to no longer take corporate PAC money and to pledge to get dark money out of politics, because they see it’s possible and voters are responding positively to that message.

We have a dangerous president who’s making dangerous policies, and we are excited to see that there are candidates that are standing up to fight against these billionaires, these corporations that get involved in politics and minimize the voices of the people. We’re seeing voters respond to fighting corruption. ECU has had over 40 town hall events across the country, in small towns and big cities, people want to talk about how we can hold politicians accountable. It’s been really great to see people show up. This year, we’re helping to elect anti-corruption champions in districts across the country.

Democracy News: Are there any candidates you want to highlight?

Melendez: Jon Ossoff is a great example of how leaders can talk about getting dark money out of politics. He’s in the South and in a swing state that matters for the presidential election. To be reelected, he needs the support of independent voters, not only Democrats, and he talked about how he’s running on anti-corruption not just because it’s popular but because it’s what the country needs. He’s very clear about not accepting corporate PAC money, and he shows you can do that and win.

On the state level, there’s Amy Acton, who is running for governor in Ohio. She’s also seeing some great progress getting the message out in her state, where now the race is considered a toss-up, which is exciting given where Ohio has been in recent cycles. Up and down the ticket in Ohio, we have candidates who are running on Unrig Washington. Acton is tying the broken economy to corruption. Voters are starting to see the cost of corruption at their kitchen tables, and so the message is resonating with them.

Something we’re hearing is that voters really want change. They don’t want to just hear about it; they want to see it. So, candidates and organizations need to be pro-active. Candidates need to be active listeners within the community, and that’s what Unrig Washington candidates are doing.

We see how much distrust voters have of politicians, and it’s because they don’t think politicians are listening to them anymore. So, for a candidate to resonate, they can’t just have a boilerplate message that came from a poll. They have to reflect the needs of their community. Walk the talk!

Democracy News: What can people do to help these Unrig Washington candidates win in November?

Melendez: It’s a simple answer, but it’s a real one: Get involved. We can’t expect change to come just out of organizations like ECU, because we can’t do it without the voters, we can’t do it without volunteers. So, the answer really is: Raise your hand, show up, be vocal, knock on doors, talk to your neighbors and support these candidates who care about these issues. Because nothing will change if we do nothing.

Democracy News: With everything that’s happening in the country, how are you coping?

Melendez: Having a community is really important. I think personally, for me, since I am first generation Latina, I see my community being affected by these ICE raids across the country. I have to consistently check in on my parents if they’re okay, if they’re walking around with their passport. That’s not what they came to this country for. So, every day, I know what I do for work affects my community. Every day I’m trying to move the ball forward with this anti-corruption and electoral work, because it helps keep my community and my family safe.