Lobbying for Clean Money, Fair Elections

Yesterday I went to Sacramento to (1) attend the press conference for Loni Hancock's Clean Money, Fair Elections bill, AB 583 and (2) to go talk to legislators or their elections issues staffer about the bill. This was my first introduction into such things, and it was a very interesting experience. I always find it kind of startling and fascinating when things that I do for the first time actually work kind of like people have told me they work, or in the way that I have been thinking about them. It's related to my surprise that I can really know anything. Those who know me know that I am often very convinced that I know many things very well, but there's still this feeling, particularly when doing something new, that I and everyone else contriving to do it is just playing a game that they hope will have the effect they want. I suppose this could be consistent with the conceit that no one knows more than I do...

Inside and just outside the capitol building, I ran into two people I haven't seen in a long time. The first was someone who had been a grad student and union organizer at UCLA when I was a grad student and union organizer at UCB. He was ABD and is now organizing TA's in the CSU system. The other was a friend-of-a-friend with whom I've hung out now and then over the years, who was in molecular biology but now works for the NRDC. I wonder how close to the expectation value of "number of people I know in the state capitol building on any given day" this sample was.

Anyway, I'm going back next week for the bill's hearing in the Elections Committee. Last year's bill was, against expectations, passed out of the EC, and we hope to do it again this year.