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Rell is Taking Aim at Lobbying
The New York Times, January 16, 2005
On the day she took office last year, [Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi] Rell pronounced ethics reform her top priority. Mrs. Rell has since said that, unlike past administrations, she will not meet with lobbyists. On Monday, she announced that she would propose legislation that would ban legislators and elected state officials such as herself from accepting political donations from lobbyists or a lobbyists' political action committees. South Carolina is the only other state to ban such donations.
"Her action is an acknowledgment that there is a problem with the amount of influence of the lobbying game in Connecticut," said Tom Swan, who is the executive director of Connecticut Citizen Action Group, a government watchdog organization that has studied the lobbying industry.
A reclaimed life
John Statler went from alcoholism 15 years ago to success as a businessman, community activist and soon, a seat on the Medford City Council.
The Mail Tribune, November 15, 2004
...Statler, 56, owns a computer consulting business and serves on several boards, including the West Medford Community Coalition, Rogue Valley Community Development Corp., Human Rights Coalition, Thrive and is a board member emeritus of Oregon Action.
"He is one of the most community-oriented, committed volunteers that I know," said Shareen Fiol, president of the West Medford Community Coalition.
That’s why a dozen volunteers knocked on 3,500 northwest Medford doors, leaving an informational brochure and a pencil with Statler’s name.
"It’s because he’s given so much that people are really willing to make it happen," she said. ...
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