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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. should not tax PPP money
DESPITE THE DIVISION and animosity that pervades national politics, then-President Donald Trump, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell were able to put aside their political differences and […]
Posted inOpinion
No rules? No problem on Beacon Hill
THE VERY IMPORTANT rules debate is soon to be upon us, where lawmakers set forth the framework under which the entirety of the two-year legislative session will take place. Just […]
Posted inOpinion
‘Alternative facts’ didn’t scuttle ranked-choice voting
THERE IS NOTHING worse than a sore loser. That is our gut reaction after reading Evan Falchuk’s recent item in CommonWealth entitled “Ranked-choice opponents peddled ‘alternative facts’”. With a treasure […]
Posted inOpinion
Carbon tax backers didn’t fare well in election
ONE OF THE MOST overlooked stories on Election Day was the defeat of pro-carbon tax politicians across the nation and here in New England. The most notable carbon tax proponent […]
Posted inOpinion
Citizens United gaining super PAC adherents
ON JANUARY 21, 2020, the famous US Supreme Court decision, Citizens United vs the Federal Election Commission (Citizens United), celebrated its tenth birthday! As the court decision matures, so do […]
Posted inOpinion
Campaign finance bill partisan power grab
THE SOLE PURPOSE for any campaign finance law is to hold politicians accountable for any possible corruption. To do so, campaign finance law should always be fair and clear. Fair for all […]
Posted inOpinion
Running the numbers on the ‘union loophole’
IN 2015, TWO family-owned Massachusetts businesses—1A Auto in Pepperell and 126 Self Storage in Ashland—filed a lawsuit challenging the Massachusetts campaign finance “union loophole.” Since 1988, unions and non-profit associations […]
Posted inOpinion
Union ‘loophole’ going to Supreme Court
THE SO-CALLED UNION LOOPHOLE is a longstanding social injustice that MassFiscal, and its sister organization the Fiscal Alliance Foundation, are determined to right. On Wednesday, we teamed up with the […]
Posted inOpinion
Citizens United: Election fairness or flaw?
Money shouldn’t buy a bigger megaphone A constitutional amendment would reset campaign finance after Citizens United By David Ropeik THE HEALTH OF the United States of America relies on a […]
Posted inOpinion
MA ruling on corporate donations is a missed opportunity
THE RECENT DECISION by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court regarding corporate campaign contributions was a missed opportunity by the state’s highest court to eliminate the country’s most unfair campaign finance law. Instead […]
Posted inOpinion
Some things are worth protecting
FREEDOM OF SPEECH and association, our most fundamental American rights, are perpetually under attack from powerful politicians, bureaucrats, unions, and far-left interest groups. They use campaign finance law as a […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
The great union loophole
NEWLY SEATED SUPREME COURT JUSTICE Neil Gorsuch once wrote, “There is something distinct, different, and more problematic afoot when the government selectively infringes on a fundamental right.” The Massachusetts union […]