Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County, November 10, 2008

HUMBOLDT COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS CAVE TO CORPORATE PRESSURE

[Rachel's introduction: In 2006, a solid majority of voters in Humboldt County, California approved Meaure-T, which outlawed donations to local electoral candidates by corporations with headquarters outside the county (such as Wal-Mart). But the corporations have managed to frighten the County Board of Supervisors into declaring the new law null and void.]

Eureka, Calif. -- Humboldt County Board of Supervisors and the Pacific Legal Foundation filed a joint settlement proposal in Federal Court today declaring the county's ban on corporate campaign contributions "null and void."

Known locally as Measure T, the Humboldt County Ordinance to Protect Our Right to Fair Elections and Local Democracy was a groundbreaking county-wide law that banned non-local corporations from contributing money to local elections and challenged the legal doctrine of Corporate Personhood -- the idea that corporations can legally claim constitutional rights such as the First Amendment. Measure T passed by citizen's initiative in Humboldt County 2006 by 55%.

"We are deeply dismayed that our elected officials bowed so easily to the pressure from the corporate-backed Pacific Legal Foundation," said Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap, the spokesperson for the Humboldt Coalition for Community Rights, the group that campaigned for the Measure. "We have offered help and support to the Board of Supervisors to do the right thing every step of the way -- instead they chose to make this decision without soliciting input from the people of Humboldt County who were looking to them to defend our rights and respect our authority to determine what is best for our local elections."

Measure T was passed in June 2006 in reaction to repeated interference in local elections by large corporations. The Measure received national attention when Humboldt County became the largest jurisdiction to directly challenge Corporate Personhood, and joined with dozens of communities across the country that have rejected the idea that a corporation can claim rights to overturn local laws that restrict their behavior.

"While this is a sad day for democracy, the fight is far from over. Past social movements like the civil rights struggle, the abolitionists, women's suffragists and the trade unionists have shown us that when people don't back down, justice ultimately prevails," said Sopoci-Belknap. "All movements have their wins and losses, and the movement for local democracy and citizen sovereignty over large corporations will prevail. Humboldt County will play a role regardless of whether the current Board of Supervisors have the integrity to stand with us."

Pacific Legal Foundation, the organization that initiated the lawsuit against Humboldt County, is a Sacramento-based law firm backed by the types of corporations Measure T sought to restrict -- companies like ExxonMobile and Philip Morris. In response to the lawsuit, many candidates in the recent local election races took a pledge to follow Measure T, regardless of the outcome. Many candidates declined contributions from companies that attempted to make political contributions to their campaigns and also pledged to publicly oppose the doctrine Corporate Personhood and to uphold the rights of citizens over those of corporations during their time in office. The majority of candidates taking the pledge were elected last Tuesday.

The proposed lawsuit settlement may be found at http://www.VoteLocalControl.org/MeasureT-SettleAgmt.pdf, the website of the Humboldt Coalition for Community Rights.

For more information visit: http://www.DUHC.org, the website for Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County.