The Black Box Theater at the Arts Center of the Capital Region was the setting for a symposium on campaign finance and election reform Saturday, where a space usually associated with drama and comedy was filled by earnest concerned citizens curious about an important issue. The space Saturday was the setting for a symposium on ideas about reforming and overhauling elections in the state hosted by the Rensselaer County chapter of the League of Women Voters. Saturday’s event revolved around a power point presentation entitled “Preserving Our Democracy: Campaign Finance Reform in New York State.”
Lara Ladd Bierman, executive director of the League of Women Voters of New York State, and Barbara Bartoletti, the state League’s legislative director, summed up their mission as “the return of our democracy to us.”
Bartoletti and Bierman took turns expounding on issues they believe should be part of the agenda in the state legislature during the upcoming session.
“Your interest is being captured and held hostage by big money in Albany,” Bartoletti told a rapt crowd of two-dozen attendees, which included newly minted Assemblyman John T. McDonald III. ”Your voices are being dimmed.”
Full Article: VIDEO: New York State League of Women Voters calls for election reform – troyrecord.com.