Remember last October when some folks here gave me grief for suggesting that “Right Size Newton was engaged in likely illegal campaigning” for “blanketing the city with color glossy flyers promoting their slate of candidates” without creating a Political Action Committee?
Well as John Hilliard reported in the Globe this week, the state’s Office of Campaign and Political Finance agreed.
[Right Size] didn’t comply with the campaign finance law when it began raising money for City Council candidates in the city’s fall municipal election. The group did so without first organizing as a political committee, according to a Dec. 27 letter from Michael J. Sullivan, the agency’s director.
The lack of compliance was due to a “misunderstanding of the campaign finance law,” Sullivan said.
Last month, RightSize formed the Newton Votes 2019 Independent Expenditure PAC to collect donations, according to the agency.
OK, so perhaps it was “a misunderstanding,” but now that Right Size is engaged in the Northland referendum, it appears that the group may be off to another bumpy start. This week the group began running paid Facebook ads that look like this…
The problem is, the image Right Size is using in its paid ads are a two year old rendering of the project, which fails to take into account the many design changes — including lack of massing, added green space, walkways, courtyards and decision to put all parking underground — that were part of the many changes the project undertook after getting feedback from neighbors, housing advocates, environmentalists and negotiations with the city and the city council. Here’s a more accurate image.
As with the campaign law violations (or even a few complaints about the signature gathering process) perhaps this is another “misunderstanding.” Here’s hoping Right Size will start using the correct image today.
P.S. Before we hear the “But Hillary’s emails!” type comments about the complaint Right Size filed against Mayor Fuller, note that (a) we’ve discussed that on Village 14 too and (b) there’s still no OCPF ruling on the Fuller’s move. But in this instance Right Size has been found in violation of the law.
@Greg,
I was told about the wrong image and fixed it yesterday. Easy mistake to make considering we don’t really know what the project is going to look like! It was then that I started scrutinizing the images.
Isn’t the image nice a green. In fact, it way too green.
Take a look at the old eastern mountain sports building. The parking lot there is now grass? Are Northland going to remove all the trees where brook is? And many others? The images they are providing are quite misleading.
@Simon: Good for you for fixing it. Well done.
But I don’t know how you can say “we don’t really know what the project is going to look like” when the 45 page board order (and other city documents) approved by the council is very specific in terms of all the conditions and design elements. Plus certainly that doesn’t justify using a two year old image, when there have been multiple renderings since and the correct one is on the city’s Northland page.
Still, glad it’s been fixed!
As usual ,… another biased v14 smear campaign. What more can you find?
Load it up !
Which part is it the smear Bill? That Right Size didn’t violate campaign finance law or didn’t use a two year old photo of the project in their paid ads?
Why not be classy like Simon, own the mistake and move on?
Now that “RSN” is a PAC, Newton’s residents and voters are free to listen to their suspicions about RSN’s “big money” tactics, influence, and self-interested distortions.
In that regard, RSN is no different than the “Stand Together” not-for-profit (pursuing Dave and Charles Koch’s interests) backing a political agenda that suits a narrow interest and not necessarily the greater good.
Lawyers certainly can be good citizens in their own communities. Yet, attorneys backing or operating as part or on behalf of a PAC are worth a high degree of scrutiny and have earned the suspicion some conclude is apropos.
And commentary from attorneys who are energetically active in the public press are _________________, well, you decide. Just please don’t call it “free speech” unless you agree that corporations are people.
@Greg,.. for example,..
@Mary Presumptuous to begin, (to continue).
RSN’s “ big money”, ( LOL )
RSN = the Koch Brothers.
RSN Lawyers = __________” well , you decide.“
For more see below.
Greg,
These developer’s depictions (especially the closer-up ones) are regularly misleading, showing an abundance of trees, grass and happy Newtonites lingering and socializing on wide expanses, eating and relaxing outside in front of the buildings, a walked dog or two, with little vehicular traffic, while in reality, there is crimped space between structure and road, sparse foliage, and fast moving very close heavy traffic.
I think Newtonites can see through the puffery either way.
In the interest of full disclosure I wonder if GR wants to report that RSN filed all the required information and reports in a timely manner and their problem is they filed the info under RSN rather than reviewing all the rules and regulations to determine they should have created a PAC and filed under that entity.
@Mike: RSN admitted they violated the law by not forming a PAC. Why are you disputing it?
@Peter: So you’re saying the OCPF didn’t rule that RSN did not comply with the law?
@Blueprint: You accused V14 of a “smear.” I asked you to explain and you responded by quoting MaryPresumptuous, who is not affiliated with V14.
@Jim: I’ll ask you the same thing I asked Blueprint. Why not be classy like Simon, own the mistake and move on?
I don’t support the Right Size agenda. But the accusation that they were “raising money” for candidates [as opposed to simply endorsing candidates] appears unfounded by the flyers posted above. While I’m no expert on campaign finance law I am pretty familiar with the First Amendment, and [as I learned during the cannabis referendums] the Office of Campaign and Political Finance is not the unbiased arbiter people might assume.
@Greg– Did Right Size Newton actually “raise money” for candidates? I agree THAT would be a campaign law violation. But it appears to me they were simply exercising their First Amendment right to endorse candidates, not raising money for them. Show me where I’m wrong.
I don’t trust the Office of Campaign and Political Finance, as they have falsely accused me in the past.
Yes Mike. They raised $3,495 as of Aug. 1, according to the OCPF letter and presumably more leading up to the November election. If you go back to
The V14 post linked above you will see that they were actively raising money up at least until Election Day.
David M: V14 is not a PAC. We don’t raise money. We don’t spend money. None of bloggers are paid and not all of the bloggers support the Northland project.
Is V14 a registered PAC? It’s clearly lobbying for the referendum, and not all authors work for free.
Glass house, meet stone.
Disclosure: My thoughts are my own–no one pays me to post here.
I would note that the state found the campaign finance violation to be unintentional:
https://patch.com/massachusetts/newton/rightsize-newton-files-complaint-against-mayor
The Facebook ad issue does demonstrate that accuracy matters. Make your case as best you can with facts, learn along the way, and have the courage to publicly correct yourself if mistakes happen.
Simmer down now people.
Right Size made an initial mistake but honestly now that the mistake is fixed and deemed unintentional I’m not sure it is worth discussing further. I don’t expect volunteers to be perfect and this issue was fixed. I’m glad Greg made the initial post as many folks on the prior thread insisted the violation didn’t exist and came up with a lot of bs to defend it, but now that it has been disclosed and fixed it is a done deal in my view.
As for the Facebook ad , i actually think Jim’s point is a good one. If it has been fixed great, but cmon, the developers map is rather rosy as usual. Look back at the Austin street planned drawings vs the actual. Hard to get a real picture with real life views.
Right side fixed it, so again moot point now. Let’s all try and have honest discussions and pointing out mistakes doesn’t have to lead to 50 post threads with various folks whining about how unfair things are on either side.
And Blue, you keep equating posters with village14. Ill ask you to stop doing that. If Mary posts something controversial it is not different than Jim or you or Colleen. You want to complain about the topics? Fine. Suggest posts to Jerry. They have bent over background to be fair. Folks will listen more if you write in full sentences, and focus on arguments and not complaints. I give Simon credit for doing that even if he disagrees with Greg on everything.
I made two decisions today:
1) In the overall scheme of things, I support the current plan for Northland vs the status quo or the alternative
2) I will not vote in support of the project. Nor will I vote against. I will abstain.
I really hate all the vitriol related to this debate. I respect people who worry about the impact of the project on their daily lives and neighborhood. I distain those who are so quick to label them as NIMBY. And I am HUGELY uncomfortable with the Pro Development voting block that exists in our current City Council.
I hope the latter group checks their tone because it is very offensive and counterproductive. And I encourage the former group to advocate for their positions
I’ll say this – the RightSize2020 website and Facebook posts are incredibly dull. Where’s the creativity? The catchy slogan like the NIMBY group in Weston (the “Weston Whopper”)? How about the “Garden City Gargantuan.” Unfortunately, I can’t come up with anything witty that begins with an “N” (as in the “Newton _____”).
Newton Nebula,..
Northland Nebula
@Greg– I don’t want to get nit picky, but here’s how I read the first V14 thread you linked to this thread…
Right Size raised money for their organization. It does not appear to me that they raised money for the candidates they endorsed. I can’t tell from that other thread where the $3495 you referenced actually went. If Right Size gave that money to candidates, I agree it would be a violation. But I’m really curious about those details. Again, from my experience the OCPF is not above bullying private citizens and grassroots groups into admitting non-existent violations.
Mike: You are getting nit-picky. They raised money specifically for the purpose of supporting their slate of candidates. They did not give to the candidates they used the funds they raised for “voter guide flyers, candidate endorsement stickers and advertisements.” The OCPF letter and Right Size’s Randy Block confirmed this. You are the only one disputing this.
And as I noted on the October thread, there were two other PACS at the time. One of them, Newton Democracy PAC, supported essentially the same slate of candidates as Right Size. I said then and now that I had “no complaints about Newton Democracy” they were following the law.
The good news is Simon French was the treasurer (or was it chair) of the Newton Democracy PAC and he’s now the treasurer for Right Size’s ballot campaign. Simon did the right thing then and he did the right thing when he updated the Northland photo. I’m confident he’ll continue to do so.
I’m really getting hacked off that none of my “likes” get recorded/shown. I have been told that this is a known issue but Greg, what is the plan to fix this issue?
A simple plan to create a level playing field as I have suggested in a previous post, is to ask the OCPF to run an informational session to clarify the issues of a ballot question and PAC. Certainly, Greg Reibman as Chamber President and community leader can make this request and I’m sure Director Michael Sullivan will agree to come out. Let’s keep the conversation positive without name calling and nitpicking.
Once again, Greg is demonstrating a creepy, OCD – ish obsession with something — in this case, RS. If the tables were turned, and instead of RS it was some group he favored, would he be turning such a TV eye (another reference for you, Greg! – did you get this one?) on them? I wonder.
@Pat – Agreed. Greg has a tendency to show his biases. But it is his forum so he can say and do what he wants.
He obviously has a horse in this race that he wants to get over the finish line. I have nothing against a development project on this site but it is way over reasonable with 800 housing units. The rental market has been in a steady decline during the last year and I believe we are now experiencing market saturation.
These issues are simply a tempest in a teapot. I’m with Fig-simmer down. At the end of the day we have to live together.
As long as we’re nitpicking the pictures…
In what world will it be daylight and there are NO cars on Needham Street? Shouldn’t an accurate portrayal of the project show traffic backed up in all directions?
But seriously…I’m not as engrossed in the project as Greg is, but probably more informed than the average voter. And the two depictions are basically exactly the same, from my POV. It’s not like they penciled in a 20 story building Westin Whopper style.
There are always lessons to be learned, especially when doing things for the first time. Now that RSN has registered as a PAC, the rendering on Facebook has been changed and the RSN ballot committee has been established, hopefully going forward the lessons learned on all sides will include sticking to the facts of the issue, campaigning without misrepresentation, leading to a vote either to veto or accept the special permit passed by the city council. Regardless of which side prevails, all sides needs to accept the end result graciously.
To me those are the only important things left to do. It’s time to move on. The following are pertinent statements from this thread that encourage moving on to the next step instead of continuing to rehash a mistake.
Peter Harrington,
Mike Halle,
Fignewtonville,
Greg,
Peter Karg,
Just a note on this quote. We all show our
biasesopinions when commenting on a blog to support one issue or another. That’s what we are doing here.I agree with the five excerpts Marti quoted above, except for Peter Karg. This is not “my forum.” There are more than one dozen bloggers on this site, including some who are development skeptics. I wish they’d post more often but that’s their decision. We welcome guest posts and we’ve also invited Randy Block to write guest posts here but he’s declined. I’m not going to stop sharing my enthusiasm for things I believe in and I believe this is an excellent project.
Back in October many people gave me grief for suggesting that Right Size was violating campaign finance law (while commending the PAC that supported an identical slate for following the law). We now have a ruling saying I was correct.
But as happened back in October and as has become the way politics is played nationally, we have folks here who don’t except it because the facts don’t align with their agenda.
That’s an unfortunate reality. But a reality nonetheless.
The money raised by RSN primarily went to lawn signs, stickers and pamphlets. And apparently a Facebook ad. $3,500 does not go very far. I guarantee Northland has spent exponentially more on their Facebook campaign alone,
Why the need to keep beating on RSN. They’re the David vs Goliath.
If you need content to repeatedly snark about, how about we keep talking about Councilor Noel pulling the privilege card to get the signature gatherer kicked off of Whole Food’s property?
It’s sad that we’ve stopped listening to each other, leaving the ballot box as the only option. Divisive politics at its finest.
Matt,
Yep, the City’s utter failure vis a vis the developer and community has both fostered City-wide divisiveness and relegated this to the ballot box.
The collective lack of real world wisdom (or in Yiddish, “sechel”) from City Hall is glaring.
A comment has been removed because it will likely take this thread hopelessly off topic.
We will not be discussing Ukraine here.