What Did We Vote For?

Lessons Learned from Question 1

One week ago, voters across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts voted overwhelmingly to preserve our schools and youth programs. They voted to safeguard our emergency and safety structures. They voted to protect our elderly parents and our sick neighbors.

Our neighbors voted against Question 1 - the repeal of our state income tax - in the face of a national economic downturn, while our country and state faced job losses, and amid a presidential campaign that witnessed both parties promising tax cuts to the middle class.

They voted 'no' because voters understand the direct connection between the health of our communities and the revenues that we use to support their public structures.

We all saw community activists working in a network across the state, having conversations with voters in neighborhood action groups, chambers of commerce, public and private employee unions, local town hall meetings, and nonprofit membership meetings. We began to learn what messages worked and what messages didn't work in different communities.

The ONE Massachusetts Network is about to begin a statewide debriefing project to learn more from our communities and organizational members:

Which public structures do you rely and place value on, and where do those structures need improvement?
What sort of changes need to be made to restore your faith that an increase in taxes would be spent wisely and collected fairly?

ONE Massachusetts' job is not to craft the content of a tax reform package, but to help our network of statewide and community-based organizations to develop a membership education program around tax and budget policy, and to empower them to participate in the upcoming public debate by declaring that their communities understand the need for additional revenues - as long as they are fairly collected and effectively used.

[Continued: Next Steps & Insider Budget Briefing Special Guests!]

NEXT STEPS

Join us on November 19th to discuss what messages worked across our state. We are inviting public officials from the Patrick administration and the Legislature to listen to the ideas community organizers heard at the doors, on the phone banks, through listserves, and in member meetings, as well as an analysis of the polls and focus groups performed in preparation for Question One.

Add your voice in our mission to advocate for a fair, adequate and stable revenue structure and budget for our Commonwealth. And yes, we know that we will likely find ourselves competing with each other as we advocate that our programs are the most "sympathetic and compelling," but at least we are working together to build a foundation of good information and smart strategies!

The tuition for the session is $20 and includes a light supper and take-home materials. Besides the Budget Punch lists, we will have a freshly-printed second edition of the Real Clout Book and Real Clout Workbook available at cost.  

Please contact Carmen Arce-Bowen at (617) 275-2833 or carmen [at] realclout.org to RSVP for this event, or with any questions!

Seating is limited - RSVP ASAP!

SPECIAL GUESTS

 Polling and Focus Group Organizers

•    Coalition for Our Communities -  Jo Blum, Harris Gruman
•    ONE Massachusetts, Education Voters -  Yawu Miller, Michael Fogelberg

Community Organizers

•    Coalition for Social Justice -  Deb Fastino
•    Mass Affordable Housing Alliance -  Cortina Vann
•    Massachusetts ACORN -  Mimi Ramos
•    Massachusetts Senior Action Council -  Carolyn Viller, Community Members
•    Chelsea Collaborative -  Gladys Vega, Carmen Arce-Bowen

Networks and Membership Organizations

•    Massachusetts Nonprofit Network -  David Magnani
•    Mass Advocates for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities -  Dan Hunter

Public Officials

•    Massachusetts Executive Office of Administration and Finance -  Ronald Marlow
•    Massachusetts House of Representatives -  Denise Provost, Byron Rushing
•    Massachusetts Senate -  Laura Booth, Office of Senator Anthony Gallucio