In conjunction with the Brennan Center for Justice, this COGEL Connect program is open and FREE TO THE PUBLIC.

This roundtable will engage attendees in conversations concerning two high profile recent developments regarding independent expenditures. The Brennan Center has documented over $100 million spent on state supreme court elections in the 2021-2022 cycle, and over $100 million in this year’s Wisconsin Supreme Court election alone. Do judicial ethics rules and campaign finance laws need updating?  We'll discuss whether COGEL should engage in more programming and policy on this topic.

The recent New York City elections also tallied record independent expenditures: Nine independent spenders contributed $1 million or more -- including one over $22 million -- on races for mayor, public advocate, borough president and city council. We’ll review how the New York City Campaign Finance Board tracks and oversees that spending to draw lessons for other jurisdictions and filers.

RECORDING: This session will be recorded. Please register to have the recording sent to you after the program.

Jason Kaune Partner Nielsen Merksamer Parrinello Gross & Leoni

Jason Kaune leads political law at Nielsen Merksamer, LLP, chairs the American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on Election Law, teaches political ethics at the Yale School of Management and co-chairs the Practising Law Institute (PLI) Corporate Political Activities conference.  He has moderated the COGEL panel on Campaign Finance Law: Litigation since 2000.

Alyson Joa-Pérez Auditor & Payment Coordinator New York City Campaign Finance Board

Alyson Joa-Pérez is a campaign finance auditor and payment coordinator in the Campaign Finance Administration division of the New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB). In her role as a campaign finance auditor, she ensures candidates running for office in New York City follow robust disclosure and oversight requirements to comply with the City’s Campaign Finance Act and the CFB Board Rules. As a payment coordinator, she safeguards one of the strongest publicly funded campaign finance systems in the country by conducting thorough analyses to determine candidate eligibility for the city’s landmark small-dollar matching funds program, and issues public matching funds to eligible candidates.

Doug Keith Deputy Director, Judiciary Program Brennan Center for Justice

Douglas Keith is Deputy Director of the Judiciary Program at the Brennan Center for Justice where his work focuses on judicial selection, ethics, and independence. He authors the Center’s biannual report on spending in judicial elections, the Politics of Judicial Elections. Keith is also a founding editor of State Court Report, a Brennan Center publication focused on state constitutional law.

Ian Vanderwalker Senior Counsel Brennan Center for Justice

Ian Vandewalker is a senior counsel and manager in the Brennan Center’s Elections and Government Program, where he works to address the influence of money in politics and disinformation in U.S. elections. Prior to joining the Brennan Center, Vandewalker held fellowships at the Center for Reproductive Rights and the Vera Institute of Justice. His work has been featured in media outlets across the nation, including the New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, USA Today, the Guardian, and the Los Angeles Times. He has also published academic articles on election law and civil liberties and testified before Congress and in state legislatures.

Tyler Kleinman Assistant Director of Compliance and Technology Nielsen Merksamer Parrinello Gross & Leoni

Tyler Kleinman is the Assistant Director of Compliance and Technology at Nielsen Merksamer. In this role, Tyler oversees the Political Reports Specialists responsible for preparing campaign and lobby reports across the United States. He is also responsible for implementing and maintaining new technologies for our Political Reporting Unit.

Jesse Schaffer Director of Special Compliance New York City Campaign Finance Board

Jesse Schaffer directs the New York City CFB's Special Compliance unit, which handles investigations, independent expenditures, and enforcement of the City's strong pay-to-play program. Prior to his 14 years at CFB, Jesse helped shape the pay-to-play law and was responsible for setting up the City's Doing Business Database that now contains 25,000 individuals covered by the law.