Commentary: Get money out of politics, or democracy will pay the price
Daniel Torres
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As Election Day approached, like many Americans, I was besieged on my phone with digital ads, my mailbox was overflowing with mailers, and my car rides became filled with political radio ads.
My home, New Paltz, is a progressive college town. We are not in a swing state and our congressional district is no longer considered competitive. Yet $143,000 in outside spending was funneled into our community in the final weeks of the 2020 election not to decide who would represent us in Washington, but rather in an attempt to defeat a town referendum in a community of only 14,000.