Get Involved by Making a Call
Call your Massachusetts State Legislator. If you are not sure what to say, here are some ideas.
You can find your legislator here: Find My Legislator (malegislature.gov)
Here are a few concise talking points to use when calling your state legislator about changes to Massachusetts laws regarding salary increases for elected officials. Remember, your state Legislator is a person just like you! They are here to help you as a citizen of Massachusetts. The key to talking to them is really to help them understand who you are, how you need their help, and what they can do about it.
Honestly, unless you are lucky, you will likely not get a chance to talk directly to your legislator.
Introduction and Purpose:
Introduce yourself as a constituent.
Let them know where you live.
Express your support for the initiatives proposed by "A Just Massachusetts from (aJustMass.org).” They may not have heard of us before.
Express your concern:
Let them know you are not happy that your local elected city officials can change their pay with almost no voter oversight.
Help them understand that you believe local city councilors and mayors deserve a fair pay, but just as city leaders need to worry about the costs of giving Teachers, Firefighters, and Police raises, you are responsible to worrying about the costs for paying for leadership salaries.
Ask for a change in the Massachusetts General Law to require some voter recourse for inappropriate raises:
The law we seek to change is General Law - Part I, Title VII, Chapter 43, Section 17A which lets local officials set the pay for the city council and the mayor’s office.
Advocate for changing the law to ensure any salary increases for elected officials do not take effect until after the next election cycle. City leaders can vote a raise, but no one should get the raise until they have been reelected.
Suggest an alternative where raises can be enacted sooner if explicitly approved by voters through a ballot measure.
Extended Signature Collection Period:
Advocate for extending the signature collection period from 20 days to 40 days for petitions to repeal salary increases or force them to ballot.
Stress that the current 20-day period is insufficient for organizing and collecting signatures, even for popular measures. Twenty days is three weeks, it can take a week for people to even learn of the problem and a week for people to organize allowing just one week to effectively collect signatures.
Propose specific changes to General Law - Part I, Title VII, Chapter 43, Section 42, to extend the signature collection window to 40 days.
Closing and Request for Support:
Request the legislator’s support for these changes to promote accountability and transparency in salary adjustments for elected officials.
Thank the legislator for their time and consideration of these important issues.