Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Ross Challenges Dickey To Reform

State Senator Mike Ross of Prescott, Democratic Candidate for U.S. Congress in District Four, challenged Congressman Jay Dickey to sign the discharge petition to allow a vote by the U.S. House of Representatives on the Shays-Meehan legislation, a bipartisan campaign finance reform bill.

Ross made a challenge Tuesday of last week while participating in an event in Hope with Granny D., an 89-year-old woman walking from California to Washington, D.C., in support of campaign finance reform.

"Congressman Dickey has refused to sign the discharge petition, which is required before the U.S. House of Representatives can vote on the Shays-Meehan campaign finance reform bill," Ross said.

"He comes home and says he's for campaign finance reform and then flies back to Washington and fails to support the Shays-Meehan bipartisan legislation," he continued. "On behalf of Granny D. and the people of Arkansas, I am challenging Congressman Dickey to sign the discharge petition and sign it now."

"Congressman Dickey recently reported he has amassed nearly half-million dollars 17 months before the 2000 General Election," Ross said.

"He has voted with the Republican National Leadership 97 percent of the time and they're rewarding him by raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for his campaign. It's obvious they'll spend whatever it takes to buy this election.

"Now we know why Congressman Dickey fails to support campaign finance reform," Ross concluded.