Capital Region Scene

From the Working Families Party...

Advocates against the Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court are rallying around last night's by the Troy City Council .

The council passed a resolution on Thursday night that urged passage of an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would negate the impact of the Citizens United ruling, according to Joe Dinkin of the Working Families Party.

The Citizens United court decision gave corporations and unions the same free speech rights as people.

"With yesterday's vote, Troy joins cities like Albany and New York City in standing up for fair elections. And all of these little wins are building a wave of momentum that will help us take our elections back from powerful corporate interests," Dinkin said in a statement.

"We’re deploying organizers around New York state to organizes in cities, towns and counties everywhere for resolutions that assert that corporations are not people, and that we need to put our politics back in the hands of the people."

New York's campaign finance laws are considered relatively loose, especially regarding how contributions to candidates can be spent, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed overhauling the state's system. Dinkin endorses these changes.

"It would put the power back into the hands of the voters. And it would limit lobbyists' influence, making Albany much more responsive to your needs," he said.

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