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Political activist and professor of law at Harvard Lawrence Lessig speaking at the University of Southern Maine in April 2018.  

Portlanders' deep dissatisfaction with the political system was on display at the University of Southern Maine on April 7, where several progressive groups hosted a forum that addressed the direct financial influence corporations and lobbyists have on political campaigns and elections. At the state level, it seemed to justify the recent support the Maine-led movement for ranked-choice voting, which Maine officials are scrambling to put into place for the June 12 primaries.

Hosted by the Sierra Club, EqualityMaine, the Southern Maine chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), and the Ringelstein for Senate campaign, the event — titled “Get Money Out Of Politics” — featured speaker Lawrence Lessig, a political activist and professor at Harvard Law School.

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Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, Zak Ringelstein, says he won’t ever accept a penny from corporations, lobbyists or PACs. His political ambitions include universal healthcare, addressing climate change, ending the era of college debt, investing in public schools, re-regulating big banks, and strengthening the American middle class.