District 11 Candidate Jim Riley Pledges to Revolutionize Campaign Finance
Agreement Establishes Stringent Donation Limits, Eliminates PACs, Shifts Focus Back to "The People".
- Odessa, TX (1888PressRelease) May 30, 2012 - Texan Congressional Candidate in District 11 and businessman Jim Riley made a stand against money in politics by signing the "Pledge for Honest Candidates." The pledge runs through a clearinghouse for federal elections called Writeindependent.org. Riley runs unopposed as a Democrat in today's election.
Formulated to reduce the influence of lobbyists and campaign financiers on political candidates, the pledge creates an unprecedented commitment for signees to not accept anything from a person or entity more than $1,000 (if a challenger) or $100 (if incumbent) in value during any calendar year to help their campaign, unless equal commitment is given to that candidate's competition.
"We've all got to work together. We're in trouble, and everybody agrees that we need to do something but nobody's rolling up their sleeves to do it. At the local level, we [constituents] agree on more things than we disagree. That's why I'm running." Jim, a former Army officer, runs a small hot dog cart called Jim-e's Chicago Style hotdogs and at Account Control Technology, he helps former students get their student loans out of default status. He feels that young people today need help at the beginning of their careers, and cites our government's mishandling of finances as the reason he wants to infuse Washington with new spirit.
Over 2,300 candidates and all returning incumbents have received the pledge via email or through their websites. "This gives voters the extraordinary ability to mandate campaign reform by choosing only to vote for pledge signers," said Judy Frankel, author of the pledge. So far, 30 candidates running for federal office have signed the pledge.
Other pledge commitments include agreement that:
• All of [candidate's] campaign efforts and funding are a matter of public record.
• Neither [candidate] nor any of [candidate's] associates will participate in anything that can be construed a conflict of interest or insider trading while in federal office or during [candidate's] lifetime.
• While in office and for five years after leaving office, neither [candidate] nor any of [candidate's] associates will accept anything of value over $100 in any calendar year from any person or entity that can be construed a conflict of interest or may have compromised the integrity of [candidate's] decisions.
• [Candidate] will vote to give the responsibility to determine the boundaries of states' districts in the U.S. House of Representatives to an impartial group of citizens not running for office wherever a state requires redistricting to apportion the population accordingly.
• If it can be shown that [candidate has] violated any of the provisions of the pledge, [candidate] will have 30 consecutive calendar days in which to remedy the violation, or [candidate] will immediately be removed from office or face civil or criminal charges. All decisions made during [candidate's] time in office will be revoked retroactively.
• Within the first six months of [candidate] taking the oath of office, [candidate] will vote to pass legislation that contains the spirit of the provisions in this pledge, and if re-elected, [candidate] will do the same again until such legislation becomes law.
About Writeindependent.org
Writeindependent.org is a first-of-its-kind social networking, nonpartisan website that lets citizens nominate write-in presidential and congressional candidates. The website also acts as a resource for learning voting procedures and posting platforms as a candidate. Additionally, Writeindependent.org serves as a venue for political discussion and debate on America's most pressing issues. The social media aspect allows users to "like" candidates and solutions offered by other citizens. For more information, visit Writeindependent.org.
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