[okeefe-updates] James O'Keefe email update

[James O'Keefe for State Treasurer]

JAMES O’KEEFE FOR STATE TREASURER E-MAIL UPDATE

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IN THIS E-MAIL:

1.  Q & A WITH JAMIE
2. JOIN THE CAMPAIGN EFFORT IN YOUR COMMUNITY
3. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED IN SOMERVILLE OFFICE
4. ON-LINE CONTRIBUTION PAGE AVAILABLE FOR USE
5. MEDIA HELP WANTED!!
6.  JAMIE COVERED IN MEDIA
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1.  Q & A WITH JAMIE

At www.jamesokeefe.org, click on the “ask Jamie a policy question” link, and 
engage with him!  Here’s an example of a recent question regarding clean 
elections that Jamie answered.  

Q:  I do not support your campaign. I do not support the "green" party. How can 
you explain a policy that allows you to put your hand directly into my pocket, 
take MY money without my consent or approval, and put my money directly into 
your campaign? How is this "clean"? How can you approve of this at a time when 
the state is seeing revenue shortfalls?

A:  Hi,

> I do not support your campaign. I do not support the "green" party. 

I am sorry to hear that. I hope you will look over the issues I am fighting for 
and see if they match your own concerns.

>How can you explain a policy that allows you to put your hand directly into my 
pocket, take MY money without my consent or approval, and put my money directly 
into your campaign? 

First, government does not require individual approval, just majority (and in 
some cases supermajority) approval. Most of the time it is through the 
legislature, but sometimes, as with the Clean Elections law, the people get to 
decide.

Second, in 1998, 2/3 of the voters approved the Clean Election law because they 
believed that our government has been taken over lobbyists and wealthy 
contributors. 

They saw that in Massachusetts most legislators get re-elected with no 
opposition. When legislators are challenged, most win simply because they are 
able to use their position as an incumbent to raise more money than the 
challenger. 

They saw that 1% of the population provides over 80% of all campaign 
contributions.

They saw that new voices and opinions are quashed before we even get a chance 
to hear them because few candidates can raise the money required to challenge 
an incumbent legislator, never mind any of the state-wide offices.

They saw that we have the best government money can buy and it doesn't respond 
to people's needs or solve real problems. They were trying to change this by 
voting for the Clean Elections law that provides public financing to candidates 
who agree only to accept small contributions, adhere to spending limits and 
raise enough small contributions.

>How is this "clean"? 

If a lobbyist contributes hundreds of dollars to a candidate and gets others to 
contribute hundreds of dollars, then they want something in return should the 
candidate get elected. In the case of the greyhound tracks, they get $5 million 
a year in tax breaks. Raytheon, Fidelity and other corporations get much more. 
The Red Sox are going to $300 million in subsidies from Boston and 
Massachusetts tax payers to build a new stadium.

Corporate welfare amounts to $600 million dollars every year that goes out of 
your pocket and into the profits of corporations. That is just from 
Massachusetts government. 

The Clean Elections law requires funding of $10 million a year. 

Which do you think costs us (and you) less?

>How can you approve of this at a time when the state is seeing revenue 
shortfalls?

Because it saves us money. Legislators can vote as citizens want and not 
wealthy contributors or lobbyists want them to. And if they don't, a Clean 
Election candidate will be able to run, get elected and do so.

Its dollars and sense.

peace,

James O'Keefe

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2.  JOIN THE CAMPAIGN EFFORT IN YOUR COMMUNITY

With less than twelve weeks left until Election Day, there is much work to be 
done!  The O’Keefe, Stein, and Lorenzen campaigns have been working in earnest 
to spread the word about the Green Party alternative, and we need your help!

No matter where you are in the state, you can help out the statewide campaigns 
in several ways.  If you call our campaign office at 617-628-2922, there’s a 
good chance that we can put you in touch with Greens in your local area.  As a 
group, there are many ways that you can support the campaigns, including:

1. Give out campaign information at a local event, concert or fair! If there 
are any events, concerts or fairs coming up in your community, let us know. 
We’ll provide you with campaign literature, buttons, etc., for you to give out 
at the event. We may even be able to get a candidate there to meet some 
voters!  Let us know as soon as possible so we can try to reserve table space 
for you. 

2.  Organize a voter identification effort in your community.  This is vital to 
the success of the campaigns and to the success of the Mass Green Party.  
Coming out of this election, we want to know who our supporters are, and you 
can help figure that out!  The campaigns can provide you with lists of 
registered voters in your precinct, ward or town, and help you organize a voter 
i.d. effort.  By going door to door and/or calling registered voters, we can 
try to determine who’s supportive of our campaigns.  

3.	 Put together a Democracy Lemonade Stand.  This is easy to put together 
and generates a lot of attention.  Basically, you find a place with a lot of 
foot traffic, like a farmer’s market or a town common, and we’ll bring candidate
(s), lemonade, candidate literature, voter registration forms, and a banner 
that reads “When the legislature gives you lemons, make lemonade!”  Then we’ll 
hand out lemonade, the candidates can meet voters and we can register new 
voters.  

4.	 Host a house party! Just invite friends, family and neighbors to your 
home for an evening meal, a Sunday brunch, or even a pizza party, and we’ll 
provide the candidate. House parties are an excellent way for the candidates to 
connect directly with potential campaign supporters and raise money and 
volunteers. And they’re fun!!

5.	Hold a speak-out.  This is where you invite individuals and people from 
local organizations, from advocacy groups to activist organizations and non-
profits to come and talk with the candidate directly about what their concerns 
are.  It helps our candidates understand the issues that people are concerned 
about, and demonstrates to activists in the community that our candidates care 
about their concerns.  

If you are interested in getting involved in any of the above ways, or if you 
have other ideas, just call us at 617-628-2922, and we’ll help you!

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3.  VOLUNTEERS NEEDED AT THE SOMERVILLE OFFICE 

With so much going on, we need your help! Mark your calendar—every Monday is 
volunteer day, complete with pizza, beverages, and plenty of envelopes to stuff 
and other volunteer work to be done. If you are a new volunteer, Mondays are an 
ideal time to meet other volunteers, get familiar with the campaign and 
campaign staff, and do some important work for democracy! We meet at 6 p.m. 
Please come this Monday if you can—we’ll go door-to-door in Somerville with 
information about all three statewide candidates.  

In addition to Mondays, we need volunteers all the time! Please call at least 
30 minutes ahead of time to let us know you’re coming and tell us what your 
skills and interests are. The number is 617-628-2922.

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4.  ON-LINE CONTRIBUTION PAGE UP AND RUNNING

Our on-line contribution page on the James O’Keefe website is much easier and 
faster to use. Check it out at www.jamesokeefe.org. Because we did not qualify 
for Clean Elections, we are dependent on the contributions of our friends and 
supporters to keep the campaign going.  Please consider giving a contribution 
or a second contribution today, and directing friends and family to the website.

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5.  DO YOU READ YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER?

If you read your local newspaper or watch the news in your community, you can 
help the O’Keefe campaign by letting us know when your local media covers the 
State Treasurer’s race and James O’Keefe out of its coverage, let us know so 
that we can respond.  You can also respond by writing a letter to the editor 
informing the media outlet and its audience of Jamie’s clean elections, anti-
corruption campaign.  If you see such a story, call us at 617-628-2922.
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6.  JAMES O’KEEFE IN THE MEDIA

Check out these media links:

08/15 	City ballots made official, Somerville Journal 
08/09 	Hopefuls oppose prize cutbacks, Springfield Union-News 
	



James O`Keefe
Green Party candidate for Massachusetts State Treasurer
www.jamesokeefe.org | 617-628-2922 | info at jamesokeefe.org
Office Address: 240B Elm St., #B2, Somerville, MA 02144
Mailing Address: PO Box 441031, Somerville, MA 02144