Common Cause/New York

Susan Lerner

Executive Director

(800) 300-8707

www.commoncause.org/ny 

Common Cause/New York is a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 1970 in New York by John Gardner.  Now with nearly 400,000 members and supporters and 36 state organizations, Common Cause remains committed to honest, open and accountable government, as well as encouraging citizen participation in democracy. Common Cause furthers its mission by working in the following areas for real reform:

• election reform
• limiting the role of money in politics
• government accountability
• preserving the diversity of media ownership

Common Cause/New York is committed to furthering the national organization’s mission on both a state and municipal level here in New York. Common Cause/New York has a proven track record of three decades of good government victories in New York City and State, fighting to allow New Yorkers of all ages and backgrounds to make their voices heard in the political process and to hold their elected leaders accountable to the public interest. As one of Common Cause’s most active state organizations, Common Cause/New York is at the forefront of these issues by using the grassroots strength of its 20,000 members statewide to change “politics as usual.”

League of Women Voters of New York State

Barbara Bartoletti

Legislative Director

(518) 465-4162

www.lwvny.org

The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a strictly nonpartisan citizen activist organization that operates at the local, state, and national levels. There are LWVs in every state; Washington, D.C.; Puerto Rico; and the Virgin Islands. In New York State, there are 60 local Leagues throughout the state.

The LWVNYS believes:

• In representative government and in the individual liberties established in the Constitution of the United States;
• That democratic government depends upon the informed and active participation of its citizens and requires that governmental bodies protect the citizen’s right to know by giving adequate notice of proposed actions, holding open meetings and making public records accessible;
• That every citizen should be protected in the right to vote; that every person should have access to free public education that provides equal opportunity for all; and that no person or group should suffer legal, economic or administrative discrimination;
• That efficient and economical government requires competent personnel, the clear assignment of responsibility, adequate financing, and coordination among the different agencies and levels of government;
• That responsible government should be responsive to the will of the people; that government should maintain an equitable and flexible system of taxation, promote the conservation and development of natural resources in the public interest, share in the solution of economic and social problems that affect the general welfare, promote a sound economy, and adopt domestic policies that facilitate the solution of international problems;
• That cooperation with other nations is essential in the search for solutions to world problems, and that the development of an international organization and international law is imperative in the promotion of world peace.

New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG)

Blair Horner

Legislative Director

(518) 436-0876

www.nypirg.org 

The New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) is New York State's largest student-directed consumer, environmental and government reform organization. We are a nonpartisan, not-for-profit group established to effect policy reforms while training students and other New Yorkers to be advocates. Since 1973, NYPIRG has played the key role in fighting for more than 120 public interest laws and executive orders.

NYPIRG's 21 college campus chapters provide much of NYPIRG's energy, resources, and activism. Each campus chapter consists of full-time staff organizers and a large core of student volunteers. Students at NYPIRG chapters work on projects that both support NYPIRG's statewide agenda and focus on local issues. NYPIRG's full-time staff produces studies on a wide array of topics, coordinates state campaigns, lobbies public officials and works with students.

In addition, NYPIRG's outreach program travels to communities across the state to educate and activate local residents on vital issues. NYPIRG's citizen membership exceeds 85,000 people from all parts of the state. These members give NYPIRG political clout and make our lobbying efforts successful.

Citizens Union of the City of New York

Dick Dadey

Executive Director

(212) 227-0342

www.citizensunion.org 

The Citizens Union of the City of New York is an independent, nonpartisan, civic organization of members who promote good government and advance political reform in the city and state of New York. For more than a century, Citizens Union has served as a watchdog for the public interest and an advocate for the common good. Citizens Union, which was recently described by the New York Times as the influential government watchdog group, works to ensure fair elections, clean campaigns, and open, effective government that is accountable to the citizens of New York.

Founded in 1897 to fight the corruption of Tammany Hall, Citizens Union helped elect the first reform mayor, Seth Low, in 1901. Over the years, Citizens Union has spearheaded efforts for improved voting procedures, home rule for New York City, campaign finance reform, historic preservation, city charter revisions that made important structural changes to city government, and state government reform. Without Citizens Union, reformers like Fiorello LaGuardia would never have been elected Mayor.