About Us

Mass Voters for Fair Elections is part of a national movement for democratic reform addressing the overwhelming problem of corporate and special interest money in politics.  This problem exists in Massachusetts, where campaigns have become too expensive, candidates have to spend too much time raising money, and only the wealthy or friends of the wealthy can run for office, leaving us with one of the lowest number of contested elections in the country.  Because our system is drowning in special interest money, issues that are crucial to our daily lives aren't being addressed.  We believe that by reducing the role of money in our elections, everyone will have a fair opportunity to participate in politics, and no-one will be excluded just because they can't make large contributions or because they aren't wealthy.

That's why in 1997 and 1998 we mobilized 6,000 volunteers and gathered 150,000 signatures in an unprecedented and overwhelmingly successful citizen-led campaign to put the Clean Elections Initiative on the ballot.  We won passage of the ballot question with support from two-thirds of the voters in Massachusetts, including substantial majorities in almost every legislative district, city, town, ward and precinct in Massachusetts.  We were only the third state in the country to establish a comprehensive "Clean Elections" system, which created a voluntary public financing system for candidates who agreed to limit their spending and contributions.  After passage, we worked with our legislative allies to win full funding for the law in three consecutive years.   Check your State Representative and State Senator's records on the previous Clean Elections system.    In 2002, there were several Clean Elections candidates for the legislature and one for governor.    Unfortunately the Clean Elections law was repealed by the Massachusetts legislature in 2003.

Today we are presented with a new opportunity for real campaign finance reform. There is a growing recognition of the need for reform in the Massachusetts legislature and a new openness to change, and we believe that Massachusetts voters continue to support Fair Elections.  That's why this year we are pleased to support several state legislators who are proposing a Fair Elections Financing Act.

Mass Voters Executive Director:

Peter Vickery became the Executive Director of Mass Voters in August 2005. Peter graduated from Oxford University in 1989 and obtained his J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 1998. He is a longstanding supporter of public financing of elections and also a co-founder and past president of Fairvote Massachusetts, which campaigns for Instant Runoff Voting and Proportional Representation. As an attorney, Peter successfully represented several Western Massachusetts voters against former House Speaker, Thomas Finneran, who had refused to schedule a special election for the 1st Hampshire District. Peter and his family live in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Mass Voters Board of Directors:

• Jim Weliky, Roxbury – President
• M.A. Swedlund, Deerfield – Treasurer
• Jim Churchill, Falmouth
• Robert Feuer, Stockbridge
• Marcia Hirshberg, Westwood
• Lauren Mattison, Northampton
• Joe O’Brien, Worcester
• Jess Ruane, Somerville
• Alice Swift, Amherst
• Tony Winsor, Newton

Contact Information:
256 North Pleasant Street, Suite 1

Amherst, MA 01002
(413) 253-0511

EMAIL 

MAILING ADDRESS:

Mass Voters for Fair Elections

P.O. Box 1100

Amherst, MA 01004-1100