Press Release - August 8, 2006

Stein Qualifies For November Ballot

Reform candidate offers voters a clear choice between real change and more of the same.

The prospect of an unopposed race for Secretary of State this November was eliminated as Jill Stein announced that she has reached the qualifying threshold to put her name on the ballot under the Green-Rainbow Party label. Stein is an environmental health advocate and a medical doctor who was the Green-Rainbow candidate for Governor in 2002.

Stein noted that the series of revelations on the cozy relationships between Big Dig contractors and Beacon Hill politicians has led to a surge of interest in candidates like herself from outside the big-money political parties. In the three weeks leading up to the August 2 collection deadline, signatures poured in for her and other Green-Rainbow candidates. As a result the official state tally shows she has thousands of certified signatures more than the 5000 needed to qualify for the ballot.

"We relied upon volunteer signature gatherers because we don't think you should just buy your way onto the ballot." Stein noted. "So it's really exciting to have exceeded the required number of signatures by such a large margin."

Stein's campaign refuses to take campaign donations from registered lobbyists or from officers of corporations who employ such lobbyists. "When you want to serve the people in a watchdog office, you shouldn't stand before voters with money in your pockets from the people you're supposed to be watching. The corrupting effects of donations from favor-seekers are at the heart of the Big Dig controversy. I'm offering voters an opportunity to cast a vote for a Secretary of State that will stand apart from the Beacon Hill political machine. As such, I can make the office the watchdog it should be for protecting our lives, our pocketbooks, and our democracy..."

Barring an upset in the Democratic primary, Stein will be facing 12-year incumbent William F. Galvin in November. Because there is no Republican candidate in the race, Stein noted that voters would have a clear two-way choice. "A vote for Bill Galvin is clearly a vote for more of the same. A vote for me is a vote to change the culture on Beacon Hill by putting someone in office who won't be part of the insider machine. I'm finding that voters are delighted to be given this kind of clear choice instead of having another unopposed race on the ballot."

Stein noted that the Secretary of State has key responsibilities for overseeing lobbying, the conduct of elections, and corporate registrations.  "The Secretary's office has responsibility for addressing the core problems that have caused the loss of confidence in state government" Stein declared. "It should be a voice for democracy and for making government accountable to the citizens of the Commonwealth.  It shouldn't be just another cog in an entrenched political machine. I'm offering voters an independent voice that's needed to get democracy out from under the powerful special interests, and get it back to work for the families and communities of the Commonwealth."