The current Massachusetts Speaker of the House and Senate President…these are not serious people…these are not people who practice what they preach when they state they are “doing the work of the people”, and they are not people who have your, or the state’s best interests at heart. While there have been so many examples of this over what should have been long ended political tenures…the quotes in this recent article from The CommonWealth Beacon are some of the most damming.

When asked if he would seek to repeal or amend Question 1 (Audit the Legislature), House Speaker Ron Mariano said, “Being no fan of making laws by ballot initiative, after seeing how screwed up the marijuana thing got, I haven’t made up my mind yet. We’ll see. We’ll see how big the margin is.”

“How big the margin is” keep that quote in mind that when the results come in, because the recently enacted “millionaires’ tax” was a 2022 ballot initiative that narrowly passed the public election with a margin 52 to 48%…and guess what, that was QUICLKY enacted by the legislature. They don’t seem to mind what the “margin” is when it comes to taxation…

In a separate conversation with the Senate President – Karen Spilka (another elected official who should have been retired years ago), one of the most hypocritical statements I have seen in a long time was made. Spilka, like her House counterpart, also didn’t rule out addressing voter-approved laws after the election and stated, “We’ll see what course it takes but right now we are focused on getting our bills done, the work of the people done.”

The “work of the people”…well guess what Karen…a ballot initiative is the definition of the word of the people on the work they want enacted.
Like the fact that Mariano and Spilka hold such an important positions in our state government, these positions from our “leaders” is embarrassing… State ballot initiatives are crucial because they empower citizens to directly influence legislation and policy (often stalled by legislative dysfunction) on issues that matter to them. By allowing voters to propose and vote on specific measures, these initiatives enhance democratic participation and ensure that a broader range of voices is heard in the political process.

The state ballot initiative process is one of the most important tools the voters of our state have against inaction by our lawmakers. I support it fully and feel it should be expanded. Do not let them get away with changing or altering the voice of the people.

LINK to Full CommonWealth Beacon Article: https://commonwealthbeacon.org/politics/mariano-spilka-dont-rule-out-revisiting-ballot-questions-after-election/