Area residents take part in Project Independence

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

July 16, 1997

By Devlyn Brooks

Staff Writer

Celebrating her country's Independence Day was not the only patriotic act Lois Thomson of rural Bemidji committed over the Fourth of July weekend.

She, and about five of her friends, also devoted several hours each day to visiting area festivals, trying to get people to sign a petition calling on the U.S. Congress to pass a bipartisan campaign finance reform bill this year.

Thomson was involved in Project Independence, the largest-ever grassroots mobilization for campaign finance reform, sponsored by the government watchdog group Common Cause.

The petition drive actually started in March, according to Thomson, who has been involved since the beginning, but the Fourth of July promotion was an attempt to get another 1,776,000 signatures, a figure symbolic with the birth date of America. The petition drive will end sometime this week, but those interested in signing can call 800-454-2634, which is considered to be the same as signing a copy of the petition.

The project's goal is to usher through Congress this session the Senate campaign finance reform bill sponsored by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and the House bill sponsored by Reps. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., and Martin Meehan, D-Mass.

According to a Common Cause news release, these bills would ban soft money donations to political parties; place tough new restrictions on political action committees' contributions; provide discounted television time for candidates abiding by voluntary spending limits; and strengthen disclosure and enforcement of campaign financing.

"The big problem where we're not being heard in politics is the money issue," said Thomson, who has been a Common Cause member since the group's inception about 20 years ago. "That's where -- excuse the terminology -- we're getting screwed."

Thomson said her group collected about 125 signatures over the Fourth of July weekend in the region, and probably has collected 300 to 500 since March.

"It was very encouraging at times, and at others it wasn't," she said about her efforts that weekend "Some people wouldn't sign because they are just apolitical, and others were worried about signing anything. Others were worried it was a partisan bill."

Thomson said she believes Common Causes' goal is to bet about 2 million signatures, which she said she hopes will make some difference in the process this session.

"It's not a perfect bill, but at least we can start by letting Congress know the people do care," she said. "Sometimes when I hear the news I think, 'Oh gee,' and it's a bit discouraging. But maybe (Congress) will sit up and take notice. I wouldn't have gotten into (the petition drive) if I didn't believe we could have some influence."