Massachusetts Citizens for Marriage Sent Letters to 21 Legislative Districts

MassNews
December 2002 Print Edition

Informational letters were sent to voters in 21 legislative districts around the time of the election, according to Mass. Citizens for Marriage.

"We were not trying to influence the elections, only to ask voters to tell these legislators not to violate the law and their oath of office, which requires them to swear to obey the state Constitution," said Sarah McVay Pawlick, President of MCM.

"Because of their violation of the law on July 17, our campaign to get the Legislature to vote on the Protection of Marriage Amendment later this fall, has converged with the election.

If we ever get serious about defeating the candidate in order to get our legislators out of the smoke-filled rooms on Beacon Hill, they will know we are after them. It will not be a low-key effort like this."

When asked by some people why they mailed to all 63,000 voters in Cheryl Jacques' district, Pawlick said that she, along with Sen. President Tom Birmingham, were the two prominent leaders of the effort to break the law.

"Cheryl Jacques even bragged openly that she was proud of breaking the law. We had to get a strong message to her that illegal activity will not be tolerated in a democracy. She is not special in any way."

Pawlick also reported that the names of the voters who received a letter were all chosen by a computer in a random "n-th" sorting of voters.

Letters were sent by a mistake of the MCM staff, due to some changes in staff, to the district of Rep. William Greene who voted against adjournment and was unopposed in the election and to the district of Sen. Richard Moore who voted against adjournment and was opposed in the election. A letter of apology was mailed first class the following day to everyone in those two districts who had mistakenly received the first letter.