In a meeting with Congressman Ruppersberger on March 5th, and most recently at a town hall in Towson focused on climate change, members from Indivisible Baltimore pressed Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger to make the #NoFossilFuelMoney pledge, which would obligate him to refuse any campaign contributions from fossil fuel companies, including Exelon Corporation here in Maryland.
In both cases the Congressman refused to make the pledge and maintained that campaign contributions in no way influence his voting record. He went on to defend Exelon by name as a company that brings a lot of jobs to Maryland. From the Baltimore Sun article on the town hall:
The congressmen also faced challenges from constituents. A member of progressive group Indivisible Baltimore asked whether Ruppersberger would sign a pledge not to knowingly accept campaign contributions from fossil fuel companies. Sarbanes has already signed the pledge. But Ruppersberger said he will not; though he maintains energy companies do not affect his decision-making, he said in a competitive district like his he will not risk losing campaign dollars.
