Showing posts with label disclosure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label disclosure. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 8, 2021

"These groups weaponize the very openness of government to undermine government"

 

“The backlash” begins an opinion piece in Newsweek by Parents Defending Education outreach director Erika Sanzi, and these may be the most accurate two words published by those who are attacking “wokeness,” gender studies, and Critical Race Theory. The sad fact is that white backlash has a proven record of effectiveness in American politics and it is once again being employed in the service of right wing corporate interests. The end product desired has less to do with CRT than with spreading disruption, fear, and chaos across America’s most important democratic public institution, schools.

According to the Washington Post, as of June 24 CRT (a theory developed in law schools and not well known among most Americans) has exploded on Fox News. The term was heard on Fox only 132 times in 2020 but has been mentioned 1,860 times this year, escalating month by month. The narrative is that grassroots parents groups have discovered the threat CRT poses to their children in schools and have arisen organically across the country to form local parent groups, a movement noticed and captured by websites and the powerful Fox News. The truth is that of an oligarch-funded and coordinated campaign using time tested techniques.

Follow the Money

Over the past five years I’ve been following “education reform” groups created by billionaire investors with names like Families for Excellent Schools, Massachusetts Parents United, and National Parents Union which have presented diversity as their public face while attacking teachers. So when I saw the launch of Parents Defending Education on March 30 I took note because it follows a different path: white backlash aimed more at school boards, superintendents, and principals. The first thing to do when evaluating these groups is always, follow the money. "


Saturday, December 14, 2019

Office of Campaign and Political Finance - presentation deck

The presentation copy for the Office of Campaign and Political Finance discussion and Q&A at the Town Council meeting on Wednesday, Dec 11, 2019 is contained here.

My thanks to Director Jason Tait for sending it along promptly!





Jason also sent along this video tutorial link that looks good. Note: I have not completely viewed all the segments.




The audio recording of the presentation and discussion on Weds can be found
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/12/fm-187-office-of-campaign-and-political.html

the Anderson case set the precedent for not using town resources in a campaign
the Anderson case set the precedent for not using town resources in a campaign

Thursday, December 12, 2019

FM #187 - Office of Campaign and Political Finance - Dec 11

FM #187

This internet radio show or podcast is number 187 in the series for Franklin Matters.

This recording shares the Office of Campaign and Political Finance presentation and discussion during the Town Council meeting on Wed, Dec 11, 2019.

The presentation document will be shared as soon as it is available. My notes and a few pictures of the presentation are available
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/12/office-of-campaign-and-political.html

The meeting runs about 50 minutes so without further ado here is the recording for the Office of Campaign and Political Finance presentation and discussion

https://www.hipcast.com/podcast/HZWt0YkX






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This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but I can't do it alone. I can always use your help.

How can you help?
  • If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors.
  • If you don't like this, please let me know.

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements.
Thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

the Anderson case set the precedent for not using town resources in a campaign
the Anderson case set the precedent for not using town resources in a campaign

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Office of Campaign and Political Finance presentation

Present: Chandler, Hamblen, Pellegri, Dellorco, Mercer, Kelly, Earls, Bissanti 
Absent: Jones

Many of the School Committee, Finance Committee and other departments heads present

Jason Tait, Director to make presentation. Copy of the deck to be shared later.

primary responsibility is disclosure and reporting

should also contact the Ethics Commission to make sure that you are covered

they don't look for the headlines, they are providing help to raise money properly, spend it properly and report it to the public

independent agency, appointment for 6 years
joint decision between Republican, Democrat, Sec of Commonwealth 

public employees can NOT solicit (phone calls, sell tickets)

examples of public employees in MA
examples of public employees in MA

social media is ground zero for public employees; need to be very careful about what is said and done about ballot or political campaigns

OCPF will write some regulations based upon recent changes to campaign finance law

public employees can not have fund raisers at their private homes

public employees may not be treasurers for political committees

spousal exception for fund raising at a home, the wife would need to leave the house if the husband would be holding the fund raising event

the Anderson case set the precedent for not using town resources in a campaign
the Anderson case set the precedent for not using town resources in a campaign

no government email addresses as part of campaign emails or mailing snail mail

information can be provided and some level of advocacy but not a clear campaign advocacy for or against an issue

equal access needs to be provided for meetings or information at public property

no contribution limits for ballot questions, for candidates, yes....

public employees can take a position on a campaign but not advocate for it on official time
public employees can take a position on a campaign but not advocate for it on official time

the "who, what, when, where, why" of a ballot question meeting or info session can be posted to an official town web page; confirm text with OCPF and Ethics first,  but not advocacy
 

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Quick updates

I have updated both the Welcome page and the "Why Franklin Matters" page.

  • The Welcome page update removed the prior slidecast and replaced that with subscription forms.

And as always - 

  • If you like this, please tell your friends and neighbors
  • If you don't like this, please tell me
Without this feedback loop, I can not improve this service.


Thank you!


Franklin, MA

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Disclosure Announcement

Keeping my promise to let you know when things change, I do have an announcement to make. I am honored to have been offered a role on the Board of Directors for the Franklin Food Pantry.

I have accepted this role and look to help the Food Pantry in a couple of ways. One, they have expanded the membership of the Board and are embarking on a strategic plan initiative. I believe my project management skills and my work creating a good customer experience can help in this effort. Two, I will work to help the Food Pantry in their communication efforts. Drawing upon the experiences I have had using and implementing social media tools, I will help to spread the word about the work of the Food Pantry.

What won’t change?
My priorities won’t change with this new role. My number one priority remains my focus on finding appropriate full-time employment. (I forgot this reference to my job search was still here.) My second priority remains contributing to the well being of my immediate and extended family.

My third priority has been giving back to my community via the work I do for Franklin Matters. I see the Food Pantry time requirements fitting within the time I have available. The Food Pantry will allow me to explore what matters in Franklin in an important way. I see this as a natural extension of the outreach efforts I have already made through the Franklin Downtown Partnership and the United Regional Chamber of Commerce.

What may change?
The Food Pantry Board is currently scheduled to meet on the last Tuesday of the month. Depending upon how the calendar works out, this poses a potential conflict with the School Committee meetings. As a result of this conflict, I may be reporting on the second School Committee meeting more from the video archive than the in person/live reporting I have been able to do.

I should note that my role with the Food Pantry Board has changed. In addition to my original responsibilities, I have taken on the role of Chairman of the Board of Directors. (updated 5/2011)
I also serve as Chairman of the Board Development Committee. This last one is temporary (I hope) as we work to expand the Board with folks who share the passion for helping our Franklin neighbors. (updated 10/2011)

My disclosure statement can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/p/why-franklin-matters.html

and here http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2009/04/disclosure-statement-updated-4809.html


Tuesday, October 6, 2009

FCC mandates disclosure

FCC mandates disclosure for bloggers receiving freebies/payments

from Moving at the Speed of Creativity by Wesley Fryer


My disclosure statement has been updated a couple of times since I started writing online over 5 years ago. The most recent update occurred with the short-term contract position I accepted on 9/28/09. As circumstances change, the disclosure will be updated. I intend to keep this as my public service effort  to provide quality information on what matters in Franklin.  

We face significant challenges.  

We need informed and engaged residents to make good decisions when it comes time to go to vote.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Disclosure Statement

  • This blog doesn't accept ads or sponsorships.
  • I don't own stock or accept royalties from any company or product mentioned on this blog.
  • I don't serve on the board of any company.
  • If the occasion were to come up, I would consider accepting samples of stuff with a nominal value (under $20 or so).
  • I will tell you that there is no correlation between mentioning stuff and whether or not someone sent it to me.
  • I write about what I find interesting and I think will interest you as a reader.

My goal in maintaining this blog is to share my ideas and hopefully create a conversation that will generate something more than we each started with.

My success will be determined by your readership and comments (or lack thereof).

I consider myself an amateur writer, a lifelong learner.

Specifically with regards to the Franklin override votes that occurred previously on May 22, 2007, and June 10, 2008: You should be aware that my wife is a kindergarten teacher in Franklin. My two daughters are recent (2004, 2006) graduates of Franklin High School and both are doing well. One has completed college and is now out in the working world. The other is in the middle of her college years. There are a few other good reasons for me to be writing about this issue. I will continue to elaborate on them here.

One last matter: a number of folks have asked me from time to time, if I would consider running for a local office (either Town Council or School Committee).

The answer has been “No”.

I expect that the answer will not change anytime soon.

Especially now, while I am looking for work, I can not commit to something like running for a town position when I don't know what my work commitment will be. I also feel that I am providing a valuable public service in the writing and sharing of the information that I currently provide here on Franklin Matters.

I do this as my hobby. I was fully employed and did my blogging/writing, etc. in my "off hours". I expect to be fully employed again. Until that time, I will be working and networking to identify that opportunity.


Updated 9/28/09 - I have accepted a contract position with Veritude to work on a project at Fidelity Investments. As this is only a short-term contract position, I will continue to identify a longer-term position.  


Updated 2/1/2010 - the contract position has been completed, I am now resuming my search efforts.

Updated 3/29/15 - After several years of employment at RBS Citizens, I have resigned that position to accept a role with John Hancock in Boston, MA


Disclosure announcement
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/08/disclosure-announcement.html


If anything changes with what I have said here, I will let you know.

I promise.


A similar version of this is found on the Why Franklin Matters page