[WestMALocals] Fwd: PUBLIC INTEREST ATTORNEY EXPLORING SECRETARY OF STATE BID

[Owen Broadhurst]

We need a candidate for SoS, for precisely the reasons that Bonifaz has 
highlighted in his work. It would be wonderful if we could encourage him to 
run as a Green-Rainbow.
 OB

 On 8/29/05, Nat Fortune <nfortune at mac.com> wrote: 
> 
> 
> 
> Last year, Bonifaz was lead counsel for the Green and Libertarian
> parties in Ohio, trying to force a recount of presidential election
> votes. He also acted as lead counsel in the Massachusetts battle
> between activists who helped pass a public campaign financing ballot
> law and the state Legislature, which refused to fund the law and
> ultimately repealed it.
> 
> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> >
> > PUBLIC INTEREST ATTORNEY EXPLORING SECRETARY OF STATE BID
> >
> > By Jim O'Sullivan
> > STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
> >
> > STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, AUG. 29, 2005….John C. Bonifaz, one of the
> > nation's top public interest attorneys, is probing a bid for secretary
> > of state in Massachusetts next year, declaring his intention to
> > "return government to the people."
> >
> > The Jamaica Plain advocate and author formed a campaign committee with
> > the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance last week. In a
> > recent interview, Bonifaz said that he would definitely run if
> > Secretary of State William Galvin decides to seek the Democratic
> > gubernatorial nomination, and may run if Galvin seeks re-election.
> >
> > "I should be clear that what I'm doing here is I'm exploring a run,"
> > Bonifaz, a Democrat, said during a telephone interview. "I have not
> > closed the door on the possibility of a run if Secretary Galvin
> > decides to run for re-election."
> >
> > Bonifaz called for Galvin to arrive at a decision. "I think if he
> > really wants to run for governor, and that's really what he wants to
> > be doing, then he should run for governor," Bonifaz said.
> >
> > The contours of the Secretary of State's race rely heavily on those of
> > the ballot's marquee contest.
> > Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly and former Justice Department lawyer
> > Deval Patrick are running for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.
> > Galvin has indicated he is considering a run for governor, but might
> > also seek a fourth term, a spokesman said Friday.
> >
> > "He's looking at governor, he's exploring that, but no decisions,"
> > Brian McNiff said. Through McNiff, Galvin declined comment on
> > Bonifaz's candidacy.
> >
> > If elected, Bonifaz said, he would push for public financing of
> > elections, same-day voter registration, and other measures, in an
> > effort to turn the Bay State into "a model for free and fair elections
> > for the rest of the country."
> > His would be "a grassroots, outsider candidacy if it's launched,"
> > Bonifaz said.
> >
> > Cameron Kerry, the brother of U.S. Sen. John Kerry, said publicly last
> > month that he would vie for the post if Galvin runs for governor.
> > A Harvard Law School alumnus and former campaign scheduler for Sen.
> > Edward M. Kennedy, Bonifaz has been at the center of several
> > high-profile election law fights, both nationally and at the state
> > level, during the past decade. A former staff attorney at the Center
> > for Responsive Politics, he founded the National Voting Rights
> > Institute in 1994 and was its executive director until 2004, when he
> > stepped down to serve as general counsel.
> > Last year, Bonifaz was lead counsel for the Green and Libertarian
> > parties in Ohio, trying to force a recount of presidential election
> > votes. He also acted as lead counsel in the Massachusetts battle
> > between activists who helped pass a public campaign financing ballot
> > law and the state Legislature, which refused to fund the law and
> > ultimately repealed it.
> >
> > In 2003, Bonifaz led a legal effort to block the invasion of Iraq by
> > seeking a restraining order against the Bush Administration to prevent
> > it from waging war on the grounds that Congress had not declared war.
> > That same year, he wrote Warrior King: The Case for Impeaching George
> > Bush, which argued that preemptive war on Iraq represented a betrayal
> > of the constitutional framers' desire to move away from the military
> > autonomy of European monarchs.
> >
> > As a student at Harvard Law in 1990, Bonifaz was a named plaintiff in
> > a suit against the institution charging it discriminated against women
> > and minority candidates when hiring for tenure-track positions. A
> > state court denied the plaintiffs standing because they had not been
> > directly harmed by the policy, Bonifaz said Friday.
> >
> > A native of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, Bonifaz said he has lived in
> > Massachusetts "almost consistently" since coming here in 1988 to work
> > on Kennedy's re-election campaign. He has never run for office before,
> > he said, but mulled a 2002 bid, as an independent candidate, against
> > John Kerry for Senate.
> >
> > Cameron Kerry was not available for comment.
> >
> > -END -
> >
> >
> > Need background about policy issues and the history of current news
> > stories? http://www.IssueSource.org
> >
> > www.statehousenews.com <http://www.statehousenews.com>
> >
> >
> 
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