Gannett/Providence Journal: Are campaign donations to MA sheriffs too suggestive of pay-to-play? CT may have solution

A report last month revealed Massachusetts sheriffs received $2.69 million in ethically questionable donations during their campaigns, calling into question whether construction firms, medical companies and other special interests are buying influence through Bay State elections.

Massachusetts sheriffs adamantly deny being involved in pay-to-play schemes, with a spokesperson for Bristol County Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson — whose campaign funds were featured prominently in the report — calling the findings “garbage.”

Even if the sheriffs are truthful and wealthy special interests aren’t buying incarceration policies that pad their coffers, the advocacy groups behind the report suggested such campaign donations don’t pass the sniff test — even though they’re legal.

Authors of the report, Common Cause and Communities for Sheriff Accountability, say Connecticut’s public election funding program is the way to go.

The groups believe Massachusetts and other states should adopt Connecticut’s model to improve confidence and fairness in their elections.

“This is not just about bribery. It’s also about public faith in government,” said Beth Rotman, a Common Cause national director and the person who led the implementation of Connecticut’s democracy reform program. “People don’t always know what’s going to influence them and what isn’t going to influence them, but certainly if you’re taking all of your money from an industry that wants something very valuable from you, it looks horrible and casts a tremendous shadow over any decision you make.”