Today, we challenged the fourteen legislators and four statewide officers to donate to purge from their campaign war chests funds donated by the Teamsters Union. We also asked Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to make public the findings of an internal investigation into City Hall’s involvement in the actions leading to the indictments.

Our challenge comes in the wake of federal indictments on extortion charges stemming from strong-arm tactics used by Teamsters against the “Top Chef” cast and crew during an episode filmed in Boston. The tactics included threats of violence, racial and sexually derisive name-calling, and aggressive picketing.

Indictment documents suggest City Hall may have tipped off local businesses to Teamster plans. Such ties between the union and the city’s permitting authorities are troubling indeed, and we commend Mayor Walsh for launching an internal investigation. We look forward to hearing the results of the taxpayer-funded independent investigator.

The indictments make clear that the Boston Teamsters will go to any length to exert their influence, and in politics, money is influence. The people of our state deserve a legislative process that is free of the influence of what US Attorney Carmen Ortiz calls ‘old school thug tactics.’

Rather than ask elected officials to give back the donations, we have suggested campaign committees donate to charity an amount equivalent to that received.

Below is the list of elected officials who have received Teamsters donations and their office phone numbers as well as the number for the Mayor’s office. Call them and tell them you don’t want Teamsters money influencing our government.

Attorney General Maura Healey (617) 727-2200

Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg (617) 367-6900 

Secretary of State William F. Galvin (617) 727-7030

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh (617) 635-4500

Representative James M. Murphy (617) 722-2240

Representative Joe McGonagle (617) 722-2400

Senator James E. Timilty (617) 722-1222

Senator Marc Pacheco (617) 722-1551

Representative Timothy J. Toomey, Jr. (617) 722-2380

Senator Thomas M. McGee (617) 722-1350

Representative Nick Collins (617) 722-2014

Senator Sal DiDomenico (617) 722-1650

Representative William C. Galvin (617) 722-2692

Representative Tackey Chan (617) 722-2080

Representative Paul J. Donato (617) 722-2180

Representative Ann-Margaret Ferrante (617) 722-2080

Representative Harold P. Naughton, Jr. (617) 722-2230

Representative Adrian Madaro (617) 722-2637

We Wish It Weren’t So...

As we’ve worked to educate and inform voters about the inner workings of the House of Representatives, we’ve noticed a disturbing trend. Thanks to Insta Trac, one of Boston’s most respected legislative research firms, we’ve confirmed that Massachusetts representatives have taken fewer non-procedural roll call votes this year than in any other in the past twenty. (Data are not reliable for years prior to 1995.)

"The math is pretty simple[,]" the Boston Globe reports, "First, take the total roll call votes that lawmakers cast between January and July, before their summer recess. Then, strip out veto overrides and related votes, which represent more reaction to the governor than proactive policy. And voila, you’re left with the lowest spring vote total in two decades: 125."

Fewer roll call votes is bad news for good lawmaking. When legislators work under the cover of voice votes and skip the debate on important issues, accountability suffers.

We at MassFiscal believe the decrease in roll call votes is an unintended consequence of our work to educate voters on the actions of their legislators. The decline in roll call votes began just after we began our mail advocacy campaign last year and has paralleled our increased education efforts. Our comprehensive advocacy includes the Legislative Scorecard, an on-line record of every representative’s most important vote catalogued in an easy-to-understand format; letters to the editor and opinion pieces; and direct mail, radio, newspaper, and web advertisements.

Because we’ve made it easier for voters to know what their representative is up to, House leadership has made that information harder to discover by not voting. The House of Representatives has only voted on 33 significant votes this year. This is a drastic deviation from the average number of significant votes over the twenty year period: approximately 91.

Despite the increased challenge, we at MassFiscal vow to continue to educate and inform the citizens of our state.

Executive director of MassFiscal Paul Craney said, "Our advocacy work has been extremely effective. The coalition of voters who demand fiscally responsible, accountable government grows stronger every day. I'm disappointed the Legislature has chosen a duck-and-cover response to our efforts. Hiding may be an effective short-term strategy, but in the long term, open government will win out."

(BOSTON)—Support for a lawsuit to lift the cap on the number of charter schools is coming from The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, a non-profit, non-partisan organization that advocates for fiscal responsibility and good government solutions on Beacon Hill. 

The suit comes after efforts to lift the arbitrary cap last year stalled in the Senate. 

Mass Fiscal Alliance board members have similarly filed suit against the state after the legislature failed to correct a statutory inequality in its campaign finance law. Mass Fiscal’s suit aims to eliminate the union loophole which gives unions an unfair advantage over businesses in elections.  

Paul Craney, executive director of Mass Fiscal Alliance, said, “Legislative leaders should heed the warning: Fail to act on common sense reforms, and individuals and organizations will seek the court’s intervention in remedying problems the legislature sweeps under the carpet.”  

During the last legislative session, a measure to lift the arbitrary cap passed in the House (roll call vote #378) 114 to 35. Senate roll call #408 failed when it went through the Senate at 9 to 30 votes. Check Mass Fiscal Alliance’s scorecard for a full report on roll call votes, atwww.MassFiscalScorecard.org.