Althea Garrison weighs in on opening up the ballot and transparency!

Boston City Paper

January 31, 2009

GARRISON LASHES

OUT AT SECRECY

OF CITY COUNCIL

SAYS THEY SECRETLY INCREASED NUMBER OF SIGNATURES REQUIRED TO RUN FOR ELECTION TO BOSTON CITY COUNCIL

THANKS KEVIN MCCREA FOR TAKING THE COUNCIL TO COURT AND STOPPING THEIR SECRET, CLOSED DOOR SESSIONS

MC CREA ALSO INVOLVED IN OTHER COURT CASE THAT PUT HUNDREDS OF NEW POLICE OFFICERS ON THE STREET


BY ALTHEA GARRISON

FORMER STATE REPRESENTATIVE

Is government by the people and for the people? Or is it by the Boston City Council and only for the Boston City Council? Did you know that the Council worked in secrecy to change the amount of signatures that one needs to run for an At-Large or District seat?

Before they SECRETLY changed the law, a candidate for one of the four At-Large City Council seats needed only five hundred (500) signatures. Now, they need 1500 CERTIFIED signatures and all District candidates need two hundred (200).

No public hearings were held on this matter and thus the reason for my question: Is it government by the thirteen Boston City Councilors and for them only? CONTINUED ON PAGE 2



CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE

GARRISON BLAMES MURPHY

FOR CHANGING SIGNATURE

REQUIREMENTS FOR COUNCIL

Two years ago, At-Large Councilor Stephen Murphy worked to change this election law. This year he worked SECRETLY to accomplish his mission. The public does not want more corrupt, unaccountable government. They want more open government - by and for the people.

This was a cowardly act and the councilors who participated in it must be defeated in the September Preliminary and November Final elections. I am strongly against Mr. Murphy’s cowardly act because changing the amount of signatures one needs to run for an At-Large Boston City Council Seat was one of the proudest pieces of legislation I supported when I was a State Representative and a member of the Commonwealth Election Law Committee. We reduced the original 1500 signature requirement to 500 signatures in order that more citizens could seek public office. It is no easy task for anyone to go out and ask enough voters to place their name in nomination and obtain 500 certifiable signatures to be on the ballot. Mr. Murphy just cut the legs out of the main objective which was to get more citizens to seek public office.

Who is the Boston City Council representing? Surely, not the hard working taxpayers who pay their salaries. We need real change on the Boston City Council and I hope that every Boston City Councilor facing a challenger this fall will be kicked out of office and out of their comfort zone. They are not accountable to the people and now is the time to make lasting changes on the Boston City Council, with new people.

All these councilors want to do is to hold on to power and not answer to the people paying the taxes. We need to clean out City Hall with new dedicated patriots who don’t mind answering to the public and being held accountable by the public for their actions. The current councilors aren’t being held accountable and they are non-responsive to the public.

I would like to thank Kevin McCrea for throwing his hat in the ring for Mayor and I wish him well. I thank him also for standing up to the Boston City Council on the Open Meeting Law and winning the court case.

McCrea was also involved in a prior law suit with other concerned citizens which was also won and resulted in the City of Boston hiring hundreds of new police officers to meet minimum staffing requirements as required by the City of Boston Charter.