Call your Senator TODAY and urge them to vote against the recently introduced budget amendment to repeal the Clean Elections Law. More details below.
1. Call the Senate switchboard at (617) 722-2000 and ask to be connected to your Senator. Urge them to oppose senate budget amendment 500 which would repeal the Clean Elections Law. For maximum effectiveness make the call by Thursday May 29th.
2. If you don’t know who your Senator is, find out at:
http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php
3. Email [email protected] to let Common Cause organizers know you got through.
FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS!
BACKGROUND
Senator Marian Walsh (D-Boston) and Senator Frederick Berry (D-Peabody) have filed a Floor Amendment to repeal Clean Elections this Friday, May 30th. The bill, Floor Amendment #500/Clerk #52, calls for the repeal of the Clean Elections Law. Attempts to undermine and repeal Clean Elections have generally come from the House of Representatives, so this measure came as a surprise to Clean Elections advocates.
In previous years, Clean Elections survived only because Governor Cellucci and Acting Govenor Swift threatened to veto schemes to undermine the Law, and their vetoes could not be overridden in the Senate (where a 2/3 vote supporting repeal would be required). Now it is feared that Governor Romney may not veto legislative actions, so a simple majority vote in the Senate could doom Clean Elections.
As usual, this action attempts to avoid full debate and discussion. At an April Election Laws Committee hearings, the impression was given that the Senate would not repeal the law during the budget process, but rather would have a full debate about it in the fall. By this move, the legislators are attempting to kill Clean Elections without hearings, before there can be any debate or mobilization of public opinion.
Both Common Cause and Mass Voters for Clean Elections have urged people to call TODAY to urge the Senate to reject the bill. MCHC joins them in this appeal.
Thanks to Common Cause and Mass Voters for Clean Elections for important information included in this alert.
