In the table below are the results of a
series of votes on Fair Elections / Clean Elections taken by the
Massachusetts House of Representatives in 2001-02,
including descriptions of each vote. You will also find
telephone numbers for your elected officials, and you can
send them e-mail by clicking on their names (a few
members do not have e-mail accounts). Please let them
hear from you on their Fair Elections / Clean Elections voting record.
A plus sign
("+") represents a vote to keep faith with
citizens who passed Clean Elections by a margin of 2 to
1. A negative sign ("-") represents a vote to
break faith with voters on the Clean Elections Law.
Description of the
Votes
On May 1,
2001,the House voted 96 "yeas" to 59
"nays" to grossly underfund the
voter-approved Clean Elections Law. This vote
(#28 on FY 2002 Budget, H4100) establishes the tax form
check-off and
voluntary contributions as the only source of
further funding for Clean Elections.
On February
15, 2002, the House voted 70 "yeas" to
77 "nays" to release $23 million from
the already-existing Clean Elections Fund for
participating candidates.
On February
15, 2002, the House voted 80 "yeas" to
67 "nays" to limit funding for Clean
Elections in the 2002 election cycle to $6
million and divert $17 million to human service
programs. On this vote, House Speaker Tom
Finneran lobbied 9 members (6 Republicans and 3
Democrats) to change their votes after the roll
call had ended, providing the margin of victory.
On February
15, 2002, the House voted 55 "yeas" to
92 "nays" for a series of technical and
modest changes sponsored by Clean Elections
supporter Rep. Jay Kaufman and about 20 others.
On February
15, 2002, the House voted 86 "yeas" to
61 "nays" to limit the Clean Elections
system to the two candidates who had qualified as
of January 25, 2002 and send a negatively-worded,
non-binding ballot question to the voters on
Clean Elections.
On May 16,
2002, the House voted 49 "yeas" to 102
"nays" to fully fund state employees'
contracts without taking money from the Clean
Elections account. By voting 'no,' members agreed
to raid $22.5 million from the Clean Elections
fund to pay state workers' contracts.
The list of votes
below is a straightforward road map for who is for moving
ahead with Clean Elections and who is opposed to it. We
hope you take the opportunity to contact your state
representative to let them know how you feel about their
voting record on Clean Elections.
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