Meet the Los Gatos 'Dream Mender'

Longtime Los Gatos resident Fred Rehhausser wants to take money out of politics.

He became involved in the issue by joining two local movements, the California Disclose Act and an effort to amend the Constitution to limit independent campaign expenditures.

The CDA, or Senate Bill 52, is being sponsored by Sens. Jerry Hill and Mark Leno. The bill has passed the state Senate and is awaiting the state Assembly vote, Rehhausser said.

The measure will be considered by the Assembly Appropriations Committee in August and a group of Silicon Valley residents was planning a trip to Sacramento to lobby the Assembly members.

"It basically tells candidates, PACs that they have to disclose the sources of money when they put out a legal ad," Rehhausser explained, adding that he's helped about 80,000 people sign a petition in favor of the bill.

Assemblyman Paul Fong is supporting the measure.

What triggered the drafting of the legislation was the last-minute infusion of $10 million to defeat Proposition 37, the GMO labeling law in the last election, Rehhausser said.

"We want honest disclosure because if people know who's sponsoring these ads, they will make up their own mind," he added. "Money is not speech."

He's also working to overturn Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a 2010 United States Supreme Court ruling that held that the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting political independent expenditures by corporations, associations, or labor unions.

"There's no mention of corporate rights in the Constitution," he said. "Corporations are chartered by states and derive their privileges by states."

He said 15 states in the country and 500 municipalities have passed resolutions against Citizens United.

The Move to Amend group in San Jose was successful at getting the San Jose City Council to approve a resolution in May that calls for an amendment to the Constitution establishing "that money is not speech and that campaign contributions and expenditures should be regulated and limited."

He said Campbell and Mountain View have also passed similar resolutions and Palo Alto has passed a resolution that instructed its Congressional representatives to support an amendment to the Constitution.

Next, Rehhausser would like Los Gatos, Saratoga, Los Altos, Cupertino and Sunnyvale to adopt the same measure.

Rehhausser said he and a group of six friends are called "Dream Menders" and have all become activists to keep government open and clean.

"It's from Van Jones' 2011 movement Restore the American dream. We want to mend the American dream," he said about the name of his group.

A plumbing contractor, a couple of retired teachers and South Bay activists are helping Rehhausser with his efforts.

No opponents to the CDA have come forward yet.

Rehhausser is also the principal of High Street Consultants, headquartered in Los Gatos.

If you would like to support Rehausser's cause please email him at fvrehhauss@aol.com.