TIM ALLENSTATE SENATE

Citizen. Servant. Fighter.

               For  Immediate  Release      

Allen  Calls  for  Senate  Candidates  to  take  “Candidates  Pledge”  On  Outside  Contributions,  To  Sponsor  Reform  

      State  Senate  candidate  Tim  Allen  today  called  for  campaign  fundraising  reform  in  Massachusetts,  challenging  fellow  candidates  running  for  the  First  Hampden  and  Hampshire  District  seat  to  take  a  “Candidate’s  Pledge”  to  limit  contributions  to  their  campaigns  from  outside  of  Massachusetts  to  $5,000.    Allen  said  he  would  propose  legislation  to  limit  the  amount  of  outside  money  that  can  be  contributed  to  state  legislative  races  in  Massachusetts,  should  he  be  elected.       Allen  said,  “Voters  are  increasingly  frustrated  by  the  corrupting  influence  of  money  in  politics,  particularly  money  from  outside  sources,  such  as  PACs,  but  also  from  donors  outside  a  jurisdiction  who  are  influencing  elections.  The  recent  Supreme  Court  McCutcheon  ruling  is  another  step  in  the  wrong  direction  that  will  allow  higher  campaign  contributions  from  a  single  source.       “Massachusetts  campaigns,  particularly  legislative  races  for  the  House  and  Senate,  are  determined  by  Massachusetts  voters  and  those  campaigns  should  be  funded  largely  through  in-­‐state  contributions  and  from  those  who  live  in  a  particular  legislative  district.         “I  am  pledging  to  keep  any  contributions  from  outside  of  Massachusetts  to  my  campaign  to  $5,000  and  challenge  all  of  the  candidates  in  the  race  for  the  First  Hampden  and  Hampshire  legislative  district  to  take  a  ‘Candidate’s  Pledge’  to  cap  contributions  from  the  outside.    Senator  Elizabeth  Warren  and  her  Republican  opponent  came  together  during  their  race,  agreeing  to  the  ‘People’s  Pledge’  to  prohibit  outside  PAC  spending  and  this  offered  a  positive  step  in  the  direction  of  reform.       “For  too  long  our  elected  officials  have  permitted  and  encouraged  a  political  culture  where  money  rules  the  process.  The  influence  of  greater  amounts  of  money  flowing  into  campaigns,  particularly  from  outside  sources  can  only  be  reversed  by  those  seeking  office  and  those  elected  to  legislate  the  rules  of  campaign  engagement.  I  challenge  all  in  this  race  to  do  the  same  and  accept  the  ‘Candidate’s  Pledge’  limiting  those  outside  contributions.      

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Page  Two    Tim  Allen  Senate/Candidate’s  Pledge           “By  allowing  some  reasonable  level  of  outside  donations,  as  I  am  suggesting  with  a  $5,000  cap,  family  members,  college  classmates  and  professional  contacts  living  out  of  state  will  still  be  able  to  support  a  candidate  in  Massachusetts.       “If  elected  to  the  State  Senate,  one  of  my  first  pieces  of  legislation  will  be  to  review  the  financing  of  Massachusetts  campaigns  and  work  to  restrict  the  influence  of  money  from  outside  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,”  Allen  said.       Allen  is  a  former  executive  at  MassMutual,  he  served  as  Executive  Director  of  the  Efficacy  Institute  and  the  Step  Up  Springfield  academic  achievement  and  character  development  initiative,  is  a  college  instructor  and  a  three-­‐term  Ward  Councilor  in  Springfield.      

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