Ann Ravel, the chair of the Federal Election Commission, an independent regulatory agency created to administer and enforce campaign finance laws in the U.S., speaks Friday, Sept. 18 at 11 a.m. at the Jackson Student Center in Anderson School of Management.

Join moderators Lonna Atkeson and Gabe Sanchez from the UNM Department of Political Science  for the talk, titled “The big picture impact of corporate money in politics,” centers on the kinds of issues she is seeing now in corporate spending, what is occurring at the federal level, what people are getting away with, the cost to the public and Ravel’s opinion on what needs to be done.

The event is free and the public is welcome. There is no cost to attend the event, however, RSVPs are requested by emailing a confirmation to jjmarie@unm.edu. Lunch will be provided. 

Ravel was appointed in 2013 to the commission by President Barak Obama. She served as the head of the California Fair Political Practices Commission where she conducted a year-long investigation into ethics and conflicts of interest related to the methods used by political campaigns, office holders and political officials to extort money and contributions from local businesses.

It’s a problem that is also felt here in our state. The Washington Post reported that a 2012 report from the Center for Public Integrity gave New Mexico a grade of D-. This lack of integrity has a lasting impact on every New Mexican.