“All Eyes on Yass” Coalition, PA Legislators Hold Presser Outside Jeff Yass’s Building in Harrisburg, Sign Pledge Rejecting Contributions from Billionaire Yass
State Legislators Pledge to Resist Yass’s Privatizing Agenda
HARRISBURG – Today, Pennsylvania state legislators gathered to sign the “Pledge for a Healthy Democracy” outside of the Commonwealth Foundation. The Pledge for a Healthy Democracy, spearheaded by the “All Eyes on Yass” coalition, calls for elected officials to reject any political contributions from billionaire Jeff Yass and his many affiliated PACs, and to resist Yass’s privatizing and profiteering agenda.
The full pledge can be found here.
Legislators who signed the pledge include: Tim Briggs, HD 149; Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz, HD 29; Liz Fiedler, HD 184; Roni Green, HD 190; Carol Kazeem, HD 159; Malcolm Kenyatta, HD 181; Tarik Khan, HD 194; Rick Krajewski, HD 188; Katie Muth, SD 44; Maureen Madden, HD 115; Lindsay Powell, HD 21; Tarah Probst, HD 189; Nikil Saval, SD 1; Josh Siegel, HD 22; Izzy Smith Wade-El, HD 49; and Ben Waxman, HD 182.
“A few days after tax day and a week before the primary election in Pennsylvania, we know that billionaires and corporations have too much of an impact on our democracy. That’s why today, we stood up with members of the PA legislature who have signed our Healthy Democracy pledge to call on ALL elected officials to reject donations from Yass and the PACs where he is a majority funder,” said Miracle Jones, legislative director of 1Hood Power during the press conference. “The pledge also calls on elected officials to resist Yass’s privatizing agenda, starting with his push this budget season to take taxpayer dollars for private and religious school tuition over public schools.”
“He continues to funnel more money into private institutions just for themselves. That's exactly what Jeff Yass is about. Individuals like himself have shown time and time again that we cannot have a healthy democracy and that's why we're out here. No more money coming from Yass,” said Representative Carol Kazeem, HD 159 from Chester.
“Public funds are for public schools. They are not for billionaires to buy their way into our communities, and they are not for the richest people to undermine the values that we as Commonwealth hold dear. Jeff Yass and other billionaires like him want to undermine public education, housing, infrastructure, the values that make this Commonwealth what it is so they can make a buck. I will not stand by,” said Representative Ismail Smith Wade-El, HD 49 from Lancaster.
Billionaire Jeff Yass, Pennsylvania's richest man who has made his money through finance and technology investments like TikTok, is the single largest donor in Pennsylvania — spending more on statewide elections than the top ten corporate PACs combined since 2020. He funds elections through a network of political action committees (PACs) and lobbying groups that influence legislation. In particular right now, Yass-affiliated PACs and lobbying groups have pushed for the expansion of school vouchers, which would take money for public schools and instead put it towards private and religious schools. In the last few months, Yass has made headlines for his conversations with Trump around a TikTok ban and his investments in Truth Social, Trump’s social media platform.
For years now, organizations across Pennsylvania have been taking action to demand All Eyes on Yass and expose the role that he is increasingly playing in undermining our democracy. Groups include: 1Hood Power, ACRE, PA Working Families, POWER, PA Stands Up, OnePA, Free the Ballot, Make the Road Action PA and more. Organizations have been calling for structural solutions to address billionaires like Yass and corporations from rigging the rules through taxing the rich by abolishing the uniformity clause, passing campaign finance limits and passing lobbying reform bills like a gift ban.
