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Mainland Lawyer Goes After Hawaii Campaign Finance Law

by Jacob Shafer

September 02, 2010

The Anti-Reformer...



Last week, Oahu-based A-1 A-Lectrician Inc. filed suit in U.S. District court, seeking to strike down a 2005 Hawaii law that restricts the ability of state and county contractors to donate to political campaigns or actively support candidates. The man behind the suit is Indiana attorney James Bopp, Jr.



So why is a Midwest lawyer worried about Hawaii’s campaign spending rules?



You probably haven’t heard of James Bopp, Jr., but you might remember Citizens United v Federal Elections Commission, which produced a controversial, 5-4 Supreme Court ruling that lifted a ban on corporate-backed political ads. Bopp was behind that case, too. In fact, he’s made a career out of fighting campaign finance reform (among other things, including abortion rights).



“If we do it right, I think we can pretty much dismantle the entire regulatory regime that is campaign finance law,” Bopp told the New York Times in January, adding, “we have been awfully successful, and we are not done yet.”