1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

I'm writing to strongly urge you to support, or introduce, legislation in California similar to the bill recently passed in Hawaii limiting corporate spending in state elections. At some point we need to honestly ask whether democratic representation still belongs primarily to citizens, or whether we've simply normalized a system where political influence scales with wealth. Citizens United opened the door to effectively unlimited corporate political spending, and the result has been predictable: ordinary voters increasingly feel irrelevant compared to corporations, Super PACs, and billionaire-funded interests. Public trust erodes when people believe policy is shaped more by money than by constituents. Corporations are legal entities created by the state for economic purposes. They are not human beings. They do not vote, raise families, or live with the consequences of public policy the way Californians do. Yet they now wield political influence that often exceeds that of actual citizens. I understand the legal arguments against measures like this, and I understand any California effort would likely face court challenges under Citizens United. But that cannot become an excuse for permanent surrender. Harmful precedent only becomes permanent when nobody is willing to challenge it. California has historically led the country on issues where federal institutions lagged behind. This should be no different. I urge you to support legislation that: -Restricts corporate spending in California elections -Increases transparency around political funding -Limits dark money influence -Reasserts that democratic power belongs to citizens, not artificial entities Even forcing this issue into public debate matters. Accepting the current system as inevitable only guarantees further erosion of public trust. Thank you for your time and consideration.