Jul 28th, 2015

In new role, Teachout will oversee 2016 independent expenditure effort to support candidates who favor changing the way campaigns are funded.

On Monday, July 27, Mayday PAC (MAYDAY.US) announced that its CEO and Board Chair - Lawrence Lessig - will transfer control of the organization to Zephyr Teachout for the 2016 election cycle. While Lessig will remain on the MAYDAY board, Teachout will be the new CEO and Board Chair of MAYDAY.

Teachout - who has served as a board member of MAYDAY since last year - is a former anti-corruption candidate for New York Governor and an Associate Professor of Law at Fordham University. She is a constitutional and property law expert and author of “Corruption in American: From Benjamin Franklin’s Snuff Box to Citizens United.” Previously, Teachout served as the first national director of the Sunlight Foundation, a non-resident fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School and the Direct of Internet Organizing for Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign.

“It has been an honor to serve as CEO and Board Chair of Mayday PAC over the past year, and I can think of no stronger leader to take on the cause of advancing fundamental reform over the next election cycle than Zephyr Teachout,” Lessig said. “Zephyr is a rising star in our movement who spearheaded a bold campaign against the Democratic establishment in her big for Governor of New York last year. I first met her when she first entered politics as the director of online organizing for Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign. That campaign showed the world the potential for online organizing. A proven fighter with a spirit that is not afraid, Zephyr will be an extraordinary leader for MAYDAY.”

“Private financing of elections is the enemy of democracy. Americans know it but politicians are far too silent and like to deflect the conversation elsewhere. Only two presidential candidates have even spoken out in favor of publicly-financed elections. At MAYDAY, we directly confront power and corruption and refuse to allow the plague of silence and lip-treatment to propagate fundamental corruption,” Teachout said. “Lessig’s extraordinary legacy includes his lack of fear. MAYDAY, at its heart, is a fight for democracy against fear and silence. We will speak out against silence and corruption in the 2016 election starting today.”



As the new CEO and Board Chair, Teachout will lead MAYDAY’s strategic planning for the 2016 election cycle. This will include selecting the next round of electoral targets and managing independent expenditure campaigns as part of the organization’s ongoing effort to advance fundamental reform. In addition, as part of her efforts, Teachout plans to put additional emphasis on the inter-connections between race, power, and privately financed campaigns.

