PRESS RELEASE

March 1, 2017

Contact: Sam Quigley

sam@patrioticmillionaires.org

202-446-0489

**Watch the Patriotic Millionaires MEDIA REEL**

 

PATRIOTIC MILLIONAIRES RELEASE STATEMENT ON NORTH CAROLINA GERRYMANDERING

“It’s time for North Carolina’s leaders to make a change and let the people choose their politicians, not the other way around“

 

Charlotte, NC – Coming from all across the state, concerned citizens are converging this morning on the North Carolina General Assembly for a Citizen’s Lobby Day to End Gerrymandering. The political process in North Carolina has been crippled by district lines that unnaturally break apart towns and communities and lead politicians to cater to the most extreme partisan edges of the political debate. A democracy is only as strong as the bond between the people and their representatives, and in North Carolina, gerrymandering continues to damage this bond. Two members of the Patriotic Millionaires, Christy Wallace and Patriotic Millionaires Chair Morris Pearl, released statements this morning speaking out against gerrymandering and in support of political reform.

 

“I was born in Camp Lejeune and grew up in various parts of the state. I love North Carolina, but I hate gerrymandering. It puts politicians’ own interests — mainly job security — ahead of the people’s interests. My dad, a career Marine and Pearl Harbor survivor, always told me that voters pick politicians. Now politicians pick their voters, and it stinks. My husband’s grandfather was Vice President under Franklin Roosevelt, and he always said that government should serve the “common man,” not corporations and the wealthy. Districts should be drawn by nonpartisan panel or computer. Democracy should serve the people, not entrenched politicians and their corporate buddies,” said Patriotic Millionaire Christy Wallace, Treasurer and board member of Wallace Global Fund and retired diplomat.

 

“Gerrymandering leaves millions of North Carolinians without any real representation. By drawing unfair district lines, the ability of voters to influence the government is greatly diminished. There is no reason one party should have a huge political majority when the number of votes was split nearly evenly between the two parties. This not only undemocratic, it is un-American. It’s time for North Carolina’s leaders to make a change and let the people choose their politicians, not the other way around,” said Morris Pearl, Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires and former managing director at BlackRock.

 

To schedule an interview or for further comment, please contact Sam Quigley at sam@patrioticmillionaires.org

 

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About the Patriotic Millionaires

 

The Patriotic Millionaires is a group of 200 high-net-worth Americans who are committed to building a more prosperous, stable, and inclusive nation. The group focuses on promoting public policy solutions that encourage political equality; guarantee a sustaining wage for working Americans; and ensure that millionaires, billionaires, and corporations pay a greater percentage of taxes. You can find out more at https://patrioticmillionaires.org/about/

 

The Patriotic Millionaires have appeared on hundreds of media outlets here and abroad, including The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the PBS NewsHour, The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and many others. You can find more coverage at https://patrioticmillionaires.org/media

 

 

 

 

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