John,

Since the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United, foreign-influenced corporations have spent millions to sway elections in New York. Take Airbnb, for example: the home-sharing platform, partly owned by a Russian oligarch’s venture fund, funneled $11M into a super PAC to defeat legislators seeking to impose restrictions on the company in 2016.

But New York has the chance to end foreign-influenced corporate spending once and for all with the Democracy Preservation Act, a bill currently under consideration by the New York State Legislature. If enacted, foreign-influenced corporations like Airbnb would be barred from contributing to candidates, parties, or committees (including super PACs) or from engaging in their own direct election spending.

Last week, we teamed up with Empire State Indivisible and the Center for American Progress to host a virtual town hall on the Democracy Preservation Act. We were joined by special guests, New York Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris (the lead sponsor of the bill) and Fordham Law Professor Zephyr Teachout. Together, we discussed how the Democracy Preservation Act has the potential to change the conversation around campaign finance reform nationwide, and what we can do to make sure it passes.

Watch the town hall here: