Aldermen meet to override pay-to-play veto

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

Wicked Local reports:

The Board of Aldermen is holding a public hearing before taking on a vote to override Mayor Joe Curtatone's veto of a campaign finance law at City Hall tonight at 7 p.m.
Earlier this fall, the aldermen approved a campaign finance reform law, commonly known as "pay-to-play," by a vote of 7-4. The law would limit campaign contributions from people looking to develop property or acquire contracts with the city to $250 instead of the state limit of $500.

Curtatone vetoed the bill, and now the board will hold a vote to potentially override the veto. To do so, they would need eight votes in favor of the law, instead of the current seven votes in favor.

For more info, check:

http://somerville.wickedlocal.com/article/20141014/NEWS/141018370

I'm posting this because the subject has come up several times.

ETA: The override did not pass by the required two-thirds majority:

http://somerville.wickedlocal.com/article/20141014/NEWS/141018119/12581/NEWS

Comments

[gruene.livejournal.com]

Of course this wouldn't apply to your wife, your brother, your cousin, your drinking buddy, or anyone else who you use as a proxy for your bribe contribution. So your total "donation" is going to be $4750, rather than $5000? Who cares?

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

If the aldermen actually vote to over-ride the mayor this would be *huge*. Not because the ruling makes a big difference on some level. As gruene points out, the total dollar value is almost a symbolic difference.

But the aldermen in this city are terrified little field mice around the mayor. It's well known that if an alderman does something the mayor doesn't like, good luck ever getting so much as a pothole repaired in your ward. So if they actually all together voted to override King Joe, he couldn't punish all of them at once without making his own golden visage look bad.

For that reason alone, I very much hope this override vote goes through.

Also, even if it is a small financial difference, it says "We see you. We see what you're doing, and we don't think it's OK." Even if it's a weak opposition to the MA-entrenched pay-to-play system, I'd be thrilled to see it happen.

[wintahill.livejournal.com]

Well said miss_chance.

[somerfriend.livejournal.com]

I've never heard any stories of the mayor being vindictive in the manner you describe. Doesn't seem to fit his personality or his focus on improving city services. This seems like some rhetorical flourish/misplaced resentment.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

It might be both those things. The stories I heard were told to me by someone I trust, but it's not something that can be verified, so in the end it's a matter of opinion and perception.