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Ann Ravel was featured in a special episode of TBS’s news program “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.” In her interview that aired on Nov. 5, Ravel discusses the issue of money in politics and its impact on U.S. democracy.
In the segment exploring the roots of democracy, Ravel addresses what the framers of the U.S. Constitution might have thought about of the role of money in current American politics. She notes that the framers believed it was important for the nation to have a representative democracy. Ravel also comments on the public perception of campaign finance, saying that while “eyes glaze over” when discussing campaign finance, citizens should be paying attention to the issue.
Appointed to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by President Obama in 2013, Ravel served as chair in 2015 and vice chair in 2014. She was appointed Chair of the California Fair Political Practices Commission by Gov. Brown, overseeing the regulation of campaign finance, lobbyist registration and reporting, and ethics and conflicts of interest related to officeholders and public employees.
Ravel is currently a senior fellow focused on digital deception issues in politics for MapLight, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that tracks the influence of money on politics and advances reforms, and she serves on the board of directors for iCivics, a nonprofit organization, supported by retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and current Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, that engages students in quality civics education. Ravel also serves as a board member for the National Institute of Money in State Politics and the Center for Political Accountability. She holds a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of Law (1974) and a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley (1970).