IN 2020, nearly 80 percent of the state’s cities and towns, as well as 55 percent of the state’s voters, rejected a ballot question that would have forever changed our elections from a one person, one vote system to ranked choice voting. In that election, the proponents spent over $10 million over the course of […]
Paul D. Craney
Posted inOpinion
Why stopping the super PAC ballot question is important
ON JANUARY 21, the famous Supreme Court decision of Citizens United vs the FEC celebrated its 13th anniversary, but here in Massachusetts the efforts to undermine this expansion of our right to free speech and association before an election continues. If it’s not stopped now, it would most likely result in unions having the loudest […]
Posted inOpinion
Is mining lithium in Maine a cost of going electric?
WHETHER THEY know it or not, both Maine Gov. Janet Mills and Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey have bet big on lithium, a critical element for making batteries for electric vehicles and other “green” technologies. Their administrations, to varying degrees, have supported electrifying everything. Massachusetts is now following California as one of several states to mandate […]
Posted inOpinion, State Government
Ready to sue to protect tax cap giveback
NEARLY 40 YEARS AGO, the esteemed taxpayer watchdog group Citizens for Limited Taxation (CLT) and the Massachusetts High Tech Council (MHTC) had the foresight to fight and win the passage of a taxpayer protection law. That law would prevent taxpayers from being gouged during times of plenty, when state tax revenues skyrocket far more quickly […]
Posted inOpinion
Awash in revenue, Beacon Hill says no to gas tax relief
THE NEW YORK STATE Assembly last week introduced their annual budget which included a state gas tax suspension. The New York proposal pushes for a portion of the state’s gas tax for both unleaded and diesel fuels to be suspended from June 1 to December 31. New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul endorsed the gas […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. climate agenda takes Election Day hits
ONE OF THE MOST consequential results for Massachusetts from last Tuesday’s election actually occurred in Maine. By a margin of approximately 59-41 percent, Maine residents voted to prohibit Central Maine Power’s attempt to construct new, high impact electric transmission lines through the Upper Kennebec region of the state. The transmission lines would carry hydro-electricity produced in […]
Posted inOpinion
With union loophole closed, super PACs on rise
BOSTON’S POLITICAL LANDSCAPE is about to undergo it’s second seismic shift in under a decade, and this one couldn’t be more different from the event which brought former mayor Marty Walsh into office in 2013. Back then, Walsh won with the help of a “union loophole “in campaign finance law. In this year’s campaign between […]
Posted inOpinion
Are Spilka and Tarr PACs at risk?
ON APRIL 12, Bill Campbell took over as the new director of the Office of Campaign and Political Finance, and immediately faced one of the most controversial political hot potatoes any new director could possibly inherit. Campbell’s predecessor, Michael Sullivan, scored a last-minute political point by referring a case involving Republican State Sen. Ryan Fattman, […]
Posted inOpinion
Fattman campaign finance case is not unique
REWRITING CAMPAIGN finance rules after the fact can be a very dangerous game. If Michael Sullivan, the outgoing director of the Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF), sets a new standard against state Sen. Ryan Fattman and Worcester County Register of Probate Stephanie Fattman, can we expect Democrats to be treated the same? Under […]
Posted inOpinion
Fattman case deserves fair, clear ‘public resolution’
SINCE 2012, I’ve worked in a profession that is heavily regulated by national and state campaign finance rules. My approach is to understand the rules, make sure they are clear and fair, and to follow the rules while also fulfilling my organization’s mission statement. Anyone who know me knows I take campaign finance law very […]