Word: balloters
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Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had considered but rejected a run for California Governor last spring, is about to edge back into the statewide political arena. Between publicity junkets for his new action film, Collateral Damage, the star, 54, is launching a California ballot initiative to put aside $550 million in state funds for after-school programs. So far, he has spent $1 million of his own money to push the measure, which would offer grants to every state elementary and middle school. Signature gathering begins this week. Next month the actor will barnstorm across the state for the initiative. Could this...
...Clean Elections Law, a ballot initiative that was directly approved by Massachusetts voters by a 2-to-1 margin in 1998, would encourage more competition in state political races by providing public funds to candidates who, having met certain standards of popularity, agree to spending limits for their campaigns. This seeks to remedy a political climate where challenges to incumbent state representatives and senators are extremely rare. The law was passed by an electorate that made an informed decision about their state campaign finance system—a decision that the legislature should respect by appropriating the funds that would...
...gubernatorial elections until the system is in place. Such extreme measures would never have been needed if the legislature had simply abided by the law enacted by the voters. Its behavior in this matter simply serves to underscore the reason that Massachusetts voters needed to resort to an ballot initiative instead of a legislative bill in the first place: self-interested politicians who are more concerned with protecting the potency of their incumbency than by representing their constituents. We hope that the court’s ruling will impress upon the legislature the gravity of the offense they have committed...
...gubernatorial bid last Wednesday was a welcome turn of events for the Massachusetts political landscape. However, due to the late start of his campaign, Reich could face difficulty garnering 15 percent of the roughly 5,000 party delegates that are required to gain a place on the Democratic primary ballot. Many of these delegates will be chosen in local party caucuses on Feb. 2. We urge those caucuses to put Reich on the ballot this fall, so that Massachusetts voters will enjoy a wider array of possible choices...
Though Reich lacks insider status in the Massachusetts political establishment, this should not prevent him from having a place on the primary ballot. His candidacy should prove to be a breath of fresh air in the stale atmosphere of Massachusetts politics...