The Next Secretary of the Commonwealth
Secretary of Commonwealth: Although the well-qualified John Bonifaz made only small inroads in his primary race against a well-established William Galvin, Green-Rainbow candidate Jill Stein still offers us a credible choice on Nov. 7. Stein, who ran for governor in 2002, is a physician, an environmental health advocate and a watchdog over legislative initiatives that put special interests above the community’s voice. If not for her alerts, some really harmful bills would have sailed through this legislative session unseen by the public. Stein’s grassroots campaign won’t take donations from registered lobbyists or from officers of corporations who employ such lobbyists. Praised by the likes of Joan Venocchi and Mel King, Stein now brings us a “Got Democracy?” reform platform.
She would end the culture of secrecy on Beacon Hill by removing the exemption the legislature granted itself from the Open Meeting Law. “We can allow ordinary people to participate in an open process of government,” she says, “rather than having our laws written in secret by lobbyists and insiders.” As a plaintiff suing Boston City Council for Open Meeting Law violations, I know first-hand how important such transparency is to honest and accountable governance.
Stein would promote implementation of the Clean Elections Law to provide public financing for qualified candidates and give the voters officials that don’t take office indebted to big campaign donors. And she would support better disclosure of lobbying and campaign donors (look at the state’s internet lists of donors at www.efs2.cpf.state.ma.us and see how many don’t even give the required employer affiliation), to fight the insidious influence-peddling that controls our money, our environmental resources and our laws. She speaks of the “lobbying surtax” — the extra cost of transportation, energy and health care we end up paying because of the success of lobbyists in shifting hidden burdens to consumers and taxpayers.
Look her up at www.jillstein.org. In this incumbent-bound state, we’re lucky people like Stein still run for office.